Branch's Perspective
by Haruka Shibashi
Summary: The Original Trolls Story from Branch's Perspective as he battles with his feelings for Poppy and struggles with his lifelong depression over losing everyone he loved and held dear. A few extra scenes have been thrown in to help better understand everyones favorite grumpy grey toll. A Broppy FanFic. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Branch's Perspective**

 _Description: The Trolls story based on Branch's Perspective with a few added scenes into the mix, not traditionally written in 1st person. It's my first time writing in a long time, and my first attempt at a Trolls fic, I just fell in love (I'm completely obsessed) with the movie and came up with a few story ideas._  
 _I already have an idea of how I want this to go and probably won't be taking any suggestions, that being said once this one is finished if you'd like me to write a similar story, except from Poppy's perspective I'd be happy to with enough requests!_

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls or the plot, it belongs to Dreamworks Productions.**

 _Constructive criticism is welcome flaming is not._

* * *

 **Chapter One**

"I don't think King Peppy made it…" announced a troubled purple troll who had injured his leg while escaping through the root tunnels.

"When I say no troll left behind…" echoed a familiar voice from within the tunnels as their King began to emerge, no longer clothed.

"I mean no troll left behind!" he cheered. The surrounding area erupted into loud cheers from the Trolls who had all successfully escaped from Bergen Town. All cheered, except one lone grey troll, he was only a child, about six years in age. He sat alone, separate from the rest of the group, unable to find himself happy about the successful escape.

"King Peppy!" Chimed in another young troll of light blue coloring.

"Where's Princess Poppy?" She worried.

"Don't worry, she's safe." He reassured the crowd as he reached into his hair to grab his daughter whom was hidden within.

"No troll left behind!" The young troll princess cheered, barely a year in age. Her actions earned a resounding 'aww' from the crowd.

"But we'll be a lot safer the further we get from Bergen Town." King Peppy urged, bringing everyone back to focus on the trouble at hand.

"Go, go! Hurry!" The Trolls heeded his warnings and made way to start on their long journey to find a new home and live a new life, free of fear from the Bergen's. King Peppy stopped in his tracks as he noticed the young grey troll who would not follow the others, and remained hurdled against the wall of root tunnels. The young one seemed unwilling to leave the tree, the only home he ever knew behind, and King Peppy knew why.

"Branch?" King Peppy called as he slowly approached the heartbroken troll, still holding his daughter. Branch jumped a bit as he heard the King address him, a little surprised that the King of the Trolls knew him by name.

"Are you alright? Were you hurt?" asked the concerned King. Branch glanced up at the King and Princess Poppy, and in that moment he felt his heart leap in his chest. Branch had never paid much attention to the Princess prior to this moment as she had been born around the same time he suffered a great loss. But he couldn't ignore her now and he found himself thinking about how cute she was, he also could not ignore the sudden pull he felt toward her. Realizing he still had not answered the King he quickly averted his eyes away, flushing lightly with embarrassment. King Peppy did not miss that interaction.

"N-No… I'm… okay…" Branch replied bashfully.

"I just… can't leave…" He added vaguely.

"Grandma Rosiepuff… right?" King Peppy asked kindly. They grey troll whipped his head back up to look at the King, shocked that he had known his reason for being unwilling to leave his home, and ultimately, his reason for turning grey. He was the King, so it made sense for him to know everything that occurred within his Village, but no other troll in Troll Village seemed to care about him anymore. Sure, they were all concerned and tried to help him at first, but after all their attempts at trying to cheer him up failed, one by one, they'd all eventually given up… many had even forgotten why he was this way. Except King Peppy, he still… remembered, still cared… about him.

"Branch, Grandma Rosiepuff sacrificed her life so you could live… she would want you to be safe, the same way she always cared for and protected all of the young trolls in Troll Village and kept them safe." King Peppy spoke, attempting to reason with the young troll. Grandma had been a close friend to the King, almost like a mother not only to him, but all the trolls in troll village; her sacrifice didn't only affect her grandson, it had affected all of them.

"She would want you to come with us and continue living… and hopefully one day… find a way to bring your true colors back." Branch looked down again as the King spoke. He knew King Peppy was right and was trying to encourage him, but with his grandmother gone he doubted he would ever be able to find his true colors again. How could that be possible when _being_ a troll, who loved to sing, dance and be happy was the very reason he'd lost everyone he loved… He had no one left…

"Their memory will always be with you." The King continued, as if he'd read Branch's mind.

"No matter where you are." Branch found his gaze landing on the King's daughter again. He felt his heart begin to race as she smiled at him and he couldn't understand what this feeling was. The King was right, and even if he knew it was impossible for him to gain back his true colors, he knew one thing was for sure, the Bergen's would still be a threat to them, no matter how far they ran. He found himself feeling as if he didn't want anything to ever happen to the King or Princess Poppy if the Bergen's ever did end up finding them again.

"You can always rely on me Branch." King Peppy assured the young Branch and he held his hand out to him.

"Always rely on me, Branch!" Princess Poppy repeated after her father. This earned a small smile from the grey troll, a smile that had not emerged since the loss of his grandmother. Placing his hand in the King's outstretched hand he allowed the King to pull him to his feet. King Peppy continued to hold Branch's hand as he led him and his daughter in the direction the rest of the trolls had gone. It was then Branch vowed to do everything in his power to ensure King Peppy and Princess Poppy's safety. This meant keeping all of Troll Village safe, even if most had forgotten about him. He couldn't allow the King or his daughter to ever suffer the sadness he felt and now lived with, he may be young and still naïve but with this one small vow, he knew he could continue to fight and live in a way he hoped would make his grandmother proud.

* * *

 **20 YEARS LATER**

 _"Everybody! Move your hair and feel united, ooh!"_ His ears twitched as a _loud_ singing voice could be heard through out the forest. He sighed and rolled his eyes, this troll really made his job difficult.

"Not again…" He groaned. He tried to tune out the dance number that he could hear commence, refocusing his thoughts on his task at hand. But try as he may, he couldn't deny that in truth he was very fond of the troll Princess' singing voice, it seemed to sooth him. Shaking his head from those thoughts he scowled as he gathered more wood for his bunker. He enjoyed hearing her sing but did she need to be that loud? He had done everything he could to ensure the village's safety from the Bergen's for twenty years, but if she insisted on getting louder and louder, one day he wouldn't be able to protect them anymore. He could keep them hidden, but he couldn't keep them silent. Their lack of silence would eventually reveal their hiding place. No matter how angelic Branch may have found her voice to be, he simply could not accept the danger that she was unknowingly putting everyone in.

As he made he was back to his bunker, it suddenly sounded like the princess was much closer to his location then she had been before. Branch turned around and peered through the cluster of bushes in front of him to see Poppy and her closest friends finishing their most recent, choreographed dance number. He approached them and leaned against the stem of a mushroom not far from them, he allowed them to catch their breath for a moment before he set down his bundle of wood and began a slow clap, making his presence known.

"Unbelievable guys really, really great job. I can hear you from a mile away!" he scoffed as he picked up his bundle of wood again and made his way to approach the troll princess. Poppy dismounted from her position on Cooper's head as he did so, still smiling and seemingly not affected by his scolding.

"Good I was worried we weren't projecting enough." The pink troll responded nonchalantly and still slightly out of breath. This only served to irritate the grey troll even more. Was she really _that_ naïve!

"Poppy." He spoke in a voice that grabbed her full attention.

"If I can hear you… so can the bergens!" he whispered the last part, hoping to add more emphasis to his statement.

"Oh boy." Commented an amused Guy Diamond.

"Here we go again." Cooper added.

"Aww Branch." Biggie groaned.

"You always ruin everything." Satin continued.

"Warning us about the bergens." Chenille finished. Branch watched as all her friends retorted his proclamation with exasperated looks.

"No I don't." he denied feeling slightly embarrassed, he began to recall some of the moments he had warned the trolls about a Bergen attack in the past and had to admit that they were right. Poppy's voice soon interrupted him.

"Come on! We haven't seen a bergen in twenty years! They're not gonna find us." Poppy argued, attempting to remain positive but he could see she was exasperated with him as well. Her statement only added fuel to his fire, she had no idea what occurred in the world around the troll village, what he had been protecting them from all of this time.

"No, they're not going to find _me,_ because I'll be hiding in my highly camouflaged, heavily fortified, bergen proof, survival bunker." He barked. Only Poppy could get him fired up like this, no other troll could get him this worked up, and he couldn't entirely understand why.

"You mean you're not coming to the party tonight?" She asked concerned. And there it was, that look on her face, the one that told him the she cared about him, that she wanted to include him, that she truly felt that he deserved to be happy. But her comment again, was naïve, and it was as if she hadn't even heard anything he just said.

"But it's gonna be the biggest…"

"…the loudest…"

"…the craziest party ever!"

"Yeah!" Were his ears deceiving him? Or was the entire Snack Pack actually trying to convince him to come to the party? He brushed the thought off assuming they were just acting on Poppy's behalf and grew irritated again.

"Big? Loud? Crazy?! You're just gonna lead the bergens right to us!" Why couldn't they understand? Why wouldn't they listen to him and heed his warnings? He knew Poppy was too young to remember much from their old home, but she knew, she _knew_ her mother had sacrificed her life to the Bergen's dreaded tradition so that she and her father could live. Why didn't the fact that the bergens were still out there terrify her? Was putting everyone in danger, by hosting a loud and crazy celebration really the right way to honor her mothers' sacrifice?

"The same could be said about _all_ of her friends, they _all_ lost someone back then. Most of them were the same age as Poppy, too little to remember what happened, their only memories being the stories told to them by the other trolls. But Biggie and Cooper were old enough to remember loosing their loved ones. Their actions perplexed him the most, they still had a family member with them so they hadn't gone grey as he had, but he _knew_ they still remembered. Why weren't they terrified? Why wouldn't they stop her?

"Are you sure you want to invite this party pooper to poop on your party?" An annoyed Cooper whispered to the princess, but he wasn't quiet enough, Branch could hear every word and he could only roll his eyes. Poppy responded with a warm, genuine smile.

"Yes, I think everyone deserves to be happy." She answered, casting her glance back toward the survivalist troll.

"I don't _do_ happy." He retorted.

"Branch, I know you have happiness inside you… You just need our help, to find it." Poppy responded back while pulling out another one of her handmade invitations from the back of her hair. He watched her, still appearing un-amused and disinterested as the invitation popped open in front of him.

 _"Celebrate freedom from the bergens!"_ The invitation sang before is sprayed glitter out from the mini-Branch's eyes and all over his face. Branch held a straight face, but could not ignore the warmth he felt in his heart as he secretly admired the well-made invitation Poppy held in her hands. The pink troll always included him; she always made him an invitation even when it was against everyone else's wishes. He knew he was a 'party pooper' as Cooper so kindly put, but Poppy always overlooked his harsh reactions and denials and still continued to go out of her way to try and make him feel like he actually mattered to her, like she _cared_ about him.

"What do you say Branch?" Part of him really wanted to accept the invitation, wanted to truly believe that she actually cared about him and wanted to celebrate alongside him, but that small voice in the back of his mind rang loud again.

 _'There's no way she wants you there! You'd ruin the whole party! Plus, you know it would be dangerous to be in a place that could clearly attract a bergen! It's foolish to attend!'_ With his mind made up, he reached out to take the invitation from Poppy with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Ignoring the small glimmer of hope that shimmered in the troll princess' eyes he immediately threw the invitation onto the ground and stomped on it. Sending a clear message that he was denying her invitation, once again. He watched everyone's reactions, slightly confused as the Snack Pack all gasped in shock.

"Oh my God." Smidge remarked. Why did this still surprise them? He always reacted this way.

"I wouldn't be caught dead at your party, but _you_ will be." Branch spat has he wiped the unwanted glitter from his face.

"Caught and dead." He finished, ignoring the pull he always felt in his heart when he reacted this way toward Poppy. He could see a look of frustration and hurt cross the princess' features, and for a moment, that look caused him to regret his harsh actions. He knew Poppy had mostly likely put a lot of work and effort into that invitation, just as she had with every invitation she handed out, and he just crushed it right in front of her.

"Woah, woah, woah, easy Branch, easy."

 _'Oh great not him.'_ Branch inwardly groaned. Any feeling of regret he had harbored toward his actions was gone in an instant as the purple troll glided in. Branch rolled his eyes in annoyance as the lightening bug carrying the peaceful minded troll, dropped him right in between him and Poppy. Creek turned to acknowledge the bug before it departed.

"Thank you for providing safe passage brother. Namaste." He released the bug and turned to face the grumpy troll.

"Okay, first of all mate. Thanks for sharing your unique perspective on things." Branch backed himself away from Creek, bringing his bundle of wood in front of him defensively as Creek had the nerve to _touch_ Branch as he addressed him.

"Again." Branch didn't miss what Creek had intended with that statement as he listened to Biggie and Copper snicker in the background. Creek _knew_ Branch had felt something toward the Princess and used that to tease him relentlessly. He always made him seem more foolish to the others then he already was, and never failed to rub the fact that Poppy had a crush on Creek in his face. There had always been a bad vibe between the two.

"Just for now, why don't you try on some positivity eh? A little positivity might go with that vest." Another backhanded remark, this time directed at Branch's choice of attire.

"Okay fine." Branch decided to play along.

"I'm positive you all are going to get eaten." Branch responded hiding behind his mask of sarcasm once again. Their conversation was soon interrupted when everyone's wrists began to chime, signaling a moment in which Branch dreaded most.

"Hug time!"

"It is hug time."

"HUG TIME!" Before Branch could react appropriately, he found himself being dragged into their group hug, Creek continuing to tease the grey troll even further by acting on what he knew the troll hated most, pulled him into a hug.

"Awww."

"Our hearts are synchronizing."

"I could squeeeezzee you forever." Branch only continued to grow more annoyed and irritated with the Snack Pack as they ignored his discomfort with the action. Guy Diamond eventually squeezed Branch so tightly, he found himself being thrown from the group. He wasn't sure if that was his intention to help free him, knowing he was uncomfortable or if he was teasing him as well, but regardless he was happy to have escaped.

"Aahh!" He shouted as he landed flat on his back, before getting right back up onto his feet again unfazed. He gathered up his wood that had been dropped, before getting as far away from the group as he could, unwilling to join in their group hug again. He had not noticed how Poppy tried to pry herself away from her friends, worried about him.

"Someday, when the Bergen's find us, and the survival of every troll is in _your_ hands…" he snapped turning around to glare at Princess Poppy.

"I sure hope the answer is singing, dancing and hugging, 'cause that's all you know how to do!" He finished with vigor.

"That's not true! Poppy also knows how to scrapbook!" Biggie defended, but both Branch and Poppy knew that was a hopeless statement. Branch glared at the princess again and continued to scold her.

"I can't _believe_ you're going to be Queen one day." Branch stomped away with that last statement. He knew what he had just said was very harsh, and without seeing Poppy's face he knew that very statement had hurt her. It was said out of frustration and anger and should've never been said, but Branch could never bring himself to apologize to her, even though he could always admit to himself that he was wrong.

Maybe he was hard on her because he couldn't bring himself to see Poppy as great as her father was and still is, especially on that day he single-handedly rescued the entire Troll Village from the bergens. To him, her concern should be with the safety of her kingdom, not on celebrations, dancing and singing. Branch himself though, was no king, nor was he as great as her father, King Peppy either. He had no control over the decisions she made and could only continue to voice his opinions to her as he secretly did everything he could to keep the Troll Village safe while in the shadows. Hoping that one day, she would finally heed his warnings.

* * *

Later that evening, Branch emerged from his bunker again and the sounds of cheers, music and celebration could be heard coming from Poppy's party. Sighing he shook his head in disappointment and headed in the direction of the area where he had met up with Poppy and her friends earlier that day. He made sure to be productive along the way as well, gathering more wood as he had done earlier.

As he approached the clearing, he cautiously looked around and listened. Making sure no one was around, so he wouldn't be seen. Once he was sure there was no one in the surrounding area, he walked into the clearing and immediately spotted what he came here for. Gingerly he bent down to pick up the flattened and forgotten invitation Poppy had given to him earlier. The sight of the invitation made his heart feel heavy again and he signed sadly. Carefully he folded the invitation back up as best as he could before safely tucking it away within his hair.

"Sorry… Poppy…" He murmured the words he could never bring himself to say in her presence. Quietly, without another word, he turned back around to make his way back to his bunker to retire for the night. Along the way he found himself approaching an overlook where he could see the entire troll village enjoying Princess Poppy's celebration. He paused and watched her for a moment, enjoying the happiness written all over her face. He quickly regained his composure though, realizing that he could be placing himself in danger here.

"Pfff." He shook his head at the lot of them as he walked away, silently hoping they would luck out once again and this party would not lead a Bergen right to their location.

* * *

 _ **(Author's note: Well that's it for this chapter! I should have another one up very soon! Let me know what y'all think!)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Branch's Perspective**

 _Description: The Trolls story based on Branch's Perspective with a few added scenes into the mix, not traditionally written in 1st person. It's my first time writing in a long time, and my first attempt at a Trolls fic, I just fell in love (I'm completely obsessed) with the movie and came up with a few story ideas._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls or the plot, it belongs to Dreamworks Production.**

 _ **(AN: Everyone seemed to really enjoy the first chapter! Thank you all your support! I will post as quickly and frequently as I can!)**_

 _Constructive criticism is welcome flaming is not._

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 _"Celebrate freedom from the bergens! Celebrate freedom from the bergens!"_ Branch gazed longingly at the invitation he had just pieced back together as he sat alone in his bunker. The invitation brought warm thoughts of Poppy into his mind as her invitations always did, and as the warm thoughts flooded his mind he couldn't stop the small smile that crept onto his face. Glancing to his right, he could see his collection that had grown over the years. He kept every invitation he received from Poppy, each one holding a special memory of her determination and kindness towards him that no other troll, other than her father, had ever expressed.

* * *

 _-Flashback-_

 _"Branch! Branch! Wait up!" called a younger Poppy about five years in age now. He sighed as he stopped walking, not yet wanting to lead her in the direction of his bunker. He desired to keep the location a secret from the rest of the Troll community, especially the noisy princess. He heard her steps land right behind him as she caught up and he turned around to acknowledge her with an uninterested look on his face. She completely ignored his expression and showed him a bright smile after catching her breath._

 _"What is it Princess Poppy." He addressed her formally, sounding slightly annoyed._

 _"Oh please just Poppy, we've known each other much too long for you to address me that way!" She insisted, Branch only rolled his eyes in response._

 _"You need something? I'm kind of busy here." He continued, motioning to the bag of supplies for his newly dug bunker he had gathered and was carrying on his back._

 _"Oh yes! Right!" She fumbled around a little bit seemingly embarrassed, before reaching into her hair to grab what looked like a folded up sheet of paper. Branch eyed her curiously._

 _"Well I just learned how to scrapbook, and well… we are having a Birthday celebration tomorrow for my Dad and I wanted to make sure you got an invitation." Branch cocked an eyebrow as the clumsily made invitation popped open in front of him, the writing within the invitation read 'Come celebrate King Peppy's Birthday!'. It was very simple and he could clearly see she was still learning, but he could also tell she had put a lot of hard work and effort into the invitation. He looked at the young princess, surprised. Usually she only asked him with a verbal invitation. Why was she suddenly determined to start handing out physical invitations?_

 _"You… made this… for me?" He asked cautiously, the shock from her statement rendering him temporarily unable to respond with his usual brashness. Poppy's smile brightened._

 _"Mhmm!" She chirped._

 _"I made them for all of my closest friends." Making reference to the Snack Pack._

 _"And that includes you! I hope one day I'll be good enough at making them that I will be able to make one for everyone in Troll Village!" Branch hadn't really registered anything else she had said after she commented 'and that includes you!' Why in the world would she consider **him** one of her closest friends? He was always mean to her, but even if he couldn't understand her reasoning, he could not deny that she had touched his heart a little bit._

 _"So… will you come?" She asked impatiently after not receiving any response from him. He gently took the invitation she so graciously offered to him and responded._

 _"I… I don't think I can." He declined her invitation with a heavy heart causing the young Princess to pout. This time, he couldn't find it in himself to be harsh with her; her invitation was filled with love and kindness toward him and her father that she adored. She considered him a friend, and she worked diligently to make sure she was able to ensure her father had a wonderful celebration for his birthday, right down to the handmade invitations. He tucked the homemade invitation into his hair before turning around to make his leave._

 _"But, thank you for inviting me anyway." He added quietly, he did not miss the look of surprise that registered on the pink trolls face at his uncharacteristic response. Before she could utter another word and come out of her state of shock he disappeared into the forest._

 _"Branch! Wait Branch!" she called but he did not respond, he made sure to take a more difficult, complicated route back to his bunker so he could ensure that she would not follow, all the while still being aware of her so that she remained safe._

 _-End of Flashback-_

* * *

Branch found himself smiling at the fond memory he shared with Poppy, his gaze landed on the very invitation he had received from her that day, back before her invitations held all the bells and whistles, before they started singing and sprayed glitter all over him, back before he started crushing her invitations in front of her to show his displeasure toward her celebrations. Branch frowned slightly as the hurt look that crossed Poppy's features entered his mind every time he crushed her invitations. No matter how mean he was to her though, she never cried, and she never gave up on him. She didn't know it but he learned how to scrapbook so he could piece back together every single invitation she'd given him, once he was alone in the privacy of his bunker. He had really sucked at it at first, but over the years he'd been able to perfect the trade.

Branch and Poppy shared very different views of their world; she'd never experienced anything painful in her life and had never set foot in the world outside of the Troll Village once they had rebuilt their civilization. Branch on the other hand had, and he had traveled everywhere in the surrounding areas of the Troll Village to gain knowledge and learn properly how to survive out here, not only to know how to defend himself against a Bergen, but also any other creature who could threaten their livelihood. But even though he knew this, even though he knew they were so vastly different, he could never fully squash the feelings he harbored deep down for the princess. She was the only light in his life, and his only shot at knowing what happiness could feel like once again.

Other than King Peppy, Poppy was the only troll in the village who seemed to care about him and his well being. She was the only one who truly believed he deserved to find happiness once again, she may have only been repeating the words her father spoke to him that day they escaped the Bergen's but she continuously proved those words to hold true with every invitation she gave him. But… even so… even if it were possible for him to find happiness again, he knew he had a very long way to go before he could be the troll Poppy wanted him to be, before he could be the troll Princess Poppy _deserved._ After twenty years of isolation and solitude it may very well be impossible for him to be completely comfortable again with the ways of the Trolls, and because of that, he could never burden her. It was and always had been his own problem to deal with so… he vowed to bury the feelings, his desire. It would forever remain his secret and he would continue to push her away.

 **BANG BANG BANG BANG**

Branch jumped in his seat and gasped as the sound of someone pounding on the door of his bunker resonated through his home. He didn't even register who could possibly be outside as he scrambled to close the invitation he had been admiring. He rushed to stuff it into the cabinet where the others were supposed to be hidden, but in his fervor he was clumsy and ended up causing almost all of the invitations to tumble out from their hiding place, most of them opening up in the process.

"No, no!"

"Branch!" "Branch!" Terrified that whomever was outside would be able to hear what was occurring down in his bunker, he continued to hastily attempt to close all the invitations as quickly as he could. But in reality, had he been thinking clearly, he knew no one could hear what he was doing down here from outside, not as far down as he was. In fact there weren't too many people who knew about the location of his bunker to begin with.

"Sh, Shush, Shush, no, no, no, no! Shush, Shush, Shush!" Finally he was able to get control over the situation and shoved all the invitations back into the cabinet, safely hidden again behind the curtains as they once were.

"Branch! Branch! Branch!" Once the invitations were silenced he directed his attention back to the pounding coming from above and realized he could hear the princess outside calling his name. He was admittedly surprised; Poppy was one of the only Trolls who knew where his bunker was located, not by his choice he might add, so at least he was in no danger. But why was she here? Wasn't she supposed to be at her party? He could only conclude, that as she had a few times in the past, she had come to see him to try and drag him to the party he did not wish to attend.

"Branch! Branch! Branch! Branch! BRANCH! Are you in there!" She continued to shout before he slid open his viewer built into his doormat.

"Huh?" a confused princess exclaimed, not expecting Branch to pop out below her.

"I'm not going to your party!" He barked.

"The party's over!" Poppy cried as she leaned down to look into his eyes, walking around the doormat to face him properly. The party was over? What is she talking about? Poppy's parties always ran late into the night, sometimes all night.

"We just got attacked by a bergen!" A bergen… A bergen! So he _was_ right! After all these years _he_ was right! He knew they were still out there looking for the trolls! Even Branch was starting to become doubtful. He knew the signs were out there, every time he ventured outside of the village, he saw the remnants of a Bergen lurking around in search of their village, but he had never been able to spot one, and after twenty years, doubt was beginning to work it's way into his mind.

"I knew it!" He spoke out loud. Restraining the impulse to gloat to the princess about having been right all along, he focused on the true danger at hand and opened his door to grab Poppy and pull her inside. Relief washed over him as he sat her down beside him and he set up the last of his traps. Poppy was all right; she was safe here with him, but… what about the others? He made the assumption that she had sought him out for continued safely and remained on guard as he listened carefully to the outside world, there was still a chance the bergen followed her and Poppy running to him had revealed his location. If that were the case he didn't mind, he would do everything in his power to make sure she remained safe.

"Branch I…" Poppy whispered, breaking the silence.

"SH!"

"I have to tell you something…"

"SHHHH!" They weren't in the lower level of his bunker; it was highly possible that if anyone was outside, they could hear them in this location, they needed to keep quiet until he was sure nothing was out there, intent on harming them. A clearly annoyed princess raised her hand to speak beside him.

"What?!" he snapped.

"What could be so important that it's worth leading the bergen right to us?!" He scolded her, but once again she remaining unfazed. What was she doing? Didn't she _want_ him to keep her safe? Was that not the reason she was here in the first place?

"The bergens gone."

"You don't know that! It could still be out there watching… waiting… listening…" he retorted, attempting to help her understand his actions. This only resulted in her giving him an odd look.

"No… it left, it took Cooper! And Smidge, and Fuzzbert and Satin and Chenille and Biggie, and Guy Diamond… and CREEK!" Branch remained poker faced as he watched her fervently name off each one of her friends that been kidnapped. But he couldn't contain his displeasure as she worried over the purple troll he did _not_ care for. He didn't miss the way she shouted his name louder than her other friends and the action only served to irritate the grey troll even further.

"Hm." Branch groaned as he rolled his eyes at the princess, she of course paid no attention to his actions and simply continued with what she needed to say.

"Which is why I have to ask you…" Poppy fiddled with her fingers a bit, clearly nervous about what she was about to say. Ask him? Ask him what? She _never_ came to him for advice or help with a situation before. Poppy took a deep breath as if she was readying herself.

"Will you go to Bergen town with me and save everyone?" She spoke very quickly, almost as if she was hoping he wouldn't fully register what she was asking him.

"WHAT?!" _That's_ why she was here? She wants to put herself in _more_ danger?!

"No." He answered simply.

"You can't say no! They're your friends!" Poppy argued, but he stopped her right there.

"Ah, ah, ah." He interrupted, shaking his finger at her.

"They're _your_ friends. I'm staying right here in my bunker where it's safe." He explained, clearly emphasizing that he had no intention of putting himself in any danger. He hoped that his clear denial would make her stay put too; there was no point in venturing to a place where they clearly intended to harm them. And there was no way a small race like the trolls could stand up to a race like the Bergen's. The only solution was for them to run, to run and remain hidden, even King Peppy knew that. Besides, why should he risk his life for a group of trolls who probably could have cared less if he disappeared anyway? Had he been the one captured he highly doubted any of them would jump up at the opportunity to rescue him.

"Oh that's great!" Poppy started to complain.

"You're the one guy who knows more about Bergen's than anyone, but when we finally _need_ you, you just want to hide here forever?" Taking this as an opportunity to change the subject and hopefully get this foolish idea out of her head he grabbed hold of the lever that would lead them deeper into his bunker.

"Forever? Pff no." He jammed the lever down, activating the elevator, the pink troll jumped a bit in surprise as they began to descend down deeper to the lowest level of his bunker.

"Yeah, I really only have enough supplies down here to last me ten years… eleven if I'm willing to store and drink my own sweat, which I am!" He emphasized earning a curious/grossed out look from the princess.

"You all said I was crazy huh? Well who's crazy now?" He mocked as they reached the lowest level of his bunker. He didn't miss the slight hint of guilt that crossed her face as he mentioned the way everyone treated him, but he chose to ignore it.

"Me… crazy prepared." He finished with a smug look on his face. Okay… maybe he was gloating a bit too much now. The type of life he lived really was nothing to gloat about, it was lonely… very lonely. Shrugging off the depressing feeling that began to well up inside him as that thought passed, he walked away from the princess toward pile of wood that had been forgotten from earlier.

"I'm sorry." Poppy apologized as she followed behind him.

"I should have listened to you. You told me not to throw the party and I threw it anyway, and it's all my fault they were taken and now I don't know what to do." She fretted; he could tell she was trying to appeal to him. She was attempting to change his mind about going to Bergen Town, the same way he had attempted to appeal to her earlier, in an effort to change her mind. It was a failed attempt, and he found himself pushing her away again with his sarcasm.

"Why don't you try scrapbooking them to freedom." Her look clearly read that she was displeased with his response, albeit being slightly impressed.

"Solid burn Branch." He couldn't help but smirk at her as she walked away from him.

"Well… Thanks anyway…" she added as she positioned herself back on the elevator. She then placed her hand on the lever, indicating that she'd be leaving. He couldn't yet be completely sure if she had given up on her idea of going to save her friends, but she was giving up on her attempt to drag him along with her. Because of this, he could only conclude that she had, there was no way she would survive alone out there. Clearly she understood that or else she wouldn't have even bothered to come find him. Regardless of what her decision would be though, this would be where they would part ways. She obviously shared no desire to stay here with him, and he didn't blame her, if those were the only trolls the bergen kidnapped, she would obviously soon be leaving this place alongside her father and the remainder of the Troll Village to relocate once again.

"Hey anytime Poppy, see you in ten years." He commented. Yes, he would remain here, alone. In his opinion, with a bergen out there who now had knowledge that the trolls were still out there, his bunker was the safest place to be.

There was that pull in his heart again, probably tugging harder then he had ever experienced before as he watched Poppy rise out of his bunker and soon disappear from his sight. His heart felt heavy, he was beginning to regret not offering to help her, but… they wouldn't survive that journey. His mask fell once she was out of his sight, he could feel his heart screaming, it didn't want her to leave, he didn't want to remain here alone for ten years. But there was nothing more that could be done, he turned to leave only to stop immediately upon hearing the sound of his elevator lowering back into his bunker, confused he turned around again to see Poppy poke her head down from above.

"Oh hey Branch." She called.

"Just… wondering if I could borrow something?" She asked coyly. He sighed at her and rolled his eyes, acting slightly annoyed, but in truth his heart was dancing with joy upon seeing that she hadn't left yet.

"What?"

"Your bunker!"

"What?!" He asked in disbelief, what in the world could she…

"Okay everybody! Come on in!" Before he had anytime to register what she meant by that statement, the rest of the Troll Village began to pile into his bunker as she let them in. Shock soon registered on his face and he began to panic. What was she _thinking!_

"No, no, no, NO! Wait! Poppy! What are you doing?!" He fretted as she approached him with a smug look on her face.

"You said you have enough provisions to last ten years right?" He gave her an odd look, what did that have to do with anything? She couldn't possibly…

"Yes to last _me_ ten years, ME! It'll last them two weeks!" he complained.

"Then I guess I'd better hurry!" She snapped back before turning around to head back toward his elevator again. Wait a minute… hurry? Was she still going to Bergen Town?! On her own?! Upon this realization he grabbed her arm to stop her and face him again.

"Wait, wait, wait." He had to find a way to reason with her, there's no way she'd survive out there!

"You won't last a day out there." He spat.

"And you won't last a day in here." She spat back, and his eyes widened as he looked around his bunker to analyze the chaos, the overly excited trolls were easily destroying the years of hard work he put into the place in a matter of seconds. He couldn't believe it, she was using this against him in an attempt to still get him to go with her! She hadn't given up on anything at all!

"Solid burn, returned." She added smugly. He looked at her in disbelief as she walked away from him again. He stood there in a daze for a moment, battling with his options. This princess could be so _unbelievable_ sometimes, whenever she set her mind on something it was _impossible_ to change it, that trait about her infuriated him. But before he could give her another piece of his mind, someone else had called out to her.

"Uh, Poppy… wait…" Branch remained where he was as he quietly observed the King approach his daughter. He could see that King Peppy was obviously torn between making her stay where he knew she would remain safe, and letting her go. With a soft sigh, he made his decision, watching his daughter with worry.

"Please be careful…" The King seemed to almost beg. Branch's heart jumped in surprise. He was not expecting that to be the King's answer. He was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt, he should have agreed to go with her… he still could go with her, if not for any other reason, then to put the King's mind at ease. Poppy was the only family he had left, there was no way that was an easy decision for him to make.

"Don't worry Dad, I can do this." Poppy reassured her father before they both went in for a warm hug.

"I love you Poppy." King Peppy said affectionately.

"I love you too Dad." She reciprocated. Branch's guilt increased, but he gazed upon the exchange tenderly. His mind had been made up now, if there was anyone here who could protect Poppy on her journey into a world she knew nothing about, no mater how hopeless this journey might seem, it was Branch. He had to protect Poppy not only for King Peppy, but himself as well… he could not loose her.

"Bye everybody! See you soon!" She shouted optimistically. Branch made his way through the crowd of trolls in an attempt to grab her attention and say something to her but before he had the chance…

"And three… two… one…" CRANK! PING! Branch jumped as the sounds of hug time chimes rang of all around him, in that same moment Poppy began to rise out of the bunker with another smug look plastered on her face as she watched him.

"Hug time!"

"No…" Before he could react the trolls, including a now unclothed King, surrounded him… _'…seriously why is he always loosing his clothes…'_ heading directly for him, looking to swallow him up within their unwanted hugs.

"Hug time, hug time." They chanted as Branch began to scream.

"Nuh… Noooo!" Poppy only smirked confidently at him as she soon disappeared from sight once again. Darn that sly princess… she was so infuriating! But even though she had used his weaknesses against him to tease him and coerce him into following along with her plan, he still could no longer find it within himself to allow her to make this journey alone.

* * *

 _ **(Authors Note: Another chapter in the books! Hope you enjoyed and don't be afraid to leave me a review!)**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Branch's Perspective**

 _Description: The Original Trolls Story from Branch's Perspective as he battles with his feelings for Poppy and struggles with his lifelong depression over losing everyone he loved and held dear. A few extra scenes have been thrown in to help better understand everyone's favorite grumpy grey toll. A Broppy FanFic._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls or the plot, it belongs to Dreamworks Productions.**

 _Constructive criticism is welcome flaming is not._

 _ **AN: Thank you all again for you reviews! I just figured out how to moderate reviews for my guest reviewers so I apologize if you did not see your review posted on my reviews page! Keep reviewing I love to see your comments!**_

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Chapter Three

It had taken Branch some time to gather the items he thought they would need for the journey, as well as attempt to sneak out without being noticed by any of the other trolls who now crowded his once spacious bunker. Luckily, he believed he had the upper hand since he knew his bunker better then anyone else, or so he thought.

"Branch." Rang a familiar voice that startled the grey troll, he had not been expecting to be caught mid route in his escape. He stopped before entering a hidden tunnel he had dug as an emergency escape route to acknowledge the troll who now stood behind him.

"King Peppy…" The King, who was still dressed only in his underwear, was watching Branch with intense, worried eyes. He felt himself falter slightly in his presence, what could the King possibly need from him? There was no way he figured out that Branch was going to go after Poppy… right?

"You'll… go after her… won't you?" The King asked softly, almost as if he was pleading with Branch to ensure his daughters safety. Branch's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting the King, who was known to be a bit oblivious and forgetful at times, to figure out Branch's intentions. Branch recalled the tender moment he had witnessed the King and Poppy share before he left, this must've been why King Peppy had allowed her to go, he had known Branch would follow her from the start.

"Ah… yeah…" Branch responded shyly, he could feel the heat rise to his cheeks. It wasn't often he showed such an emotion, but not only had the King read Branch's every move, he really respected the troll who stood before him right now. This man had been watching over him since the day his grandmother left, he could never lie to him. King Peppy smiled softly at the grey troll and placed a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder.

"Please protect her…" He asked kindly, almost as if he were pleading with him.

"And come home safe… both of you." It wasn't an order, but an honest wish. Just like Poppy, the King never gave up on Branch, always wishing for him to find happiness again one day. He grew resilient to remainder of the Troll Village no longer paying any attention to him, but once in a while… it was nice to know there was still someone out there who cared about him. The King's kindness caused Branch to smile slightly. Branch looked up at King Peppy with a strong gaze.

"I will." He answered King Peppy confidently, before turning to make his leave once again.

 _'I would have done so, even if he hadn't asked me.'_ Branch found himself thinking as he climbed into his escape tunnel. This time the King made no move to stop him and just watched the young troll he almost considered his own son, with a proud heart as he left.

Once outside of his bunker, Branch quickly spotted the large bergens footprints on the ground. Taking this as his lead, and assuming Poppy used this as her lead as well he started off on his journey, hoping he would catch up to the troll princess soon. Unfortunately as time dragged on, almost half a day in fact, there was still no sight of the pink troll who held a special place in his heart. She had either gotten along a lot farther then he had anticipated her to, or she was already… Branch shook his head furiously in an attempt to rid his mind of those unpleasant thoughts, he may have been pessimistic by nature, but he did not want to think that way when it came to Poppy. In an attempt to calm the anxiety that was building up within him with each step he recalled a memory he shared and cherished with the Troll Princess.

* * *

 _-Flashback-_

 _It was another typical day for Branch; he had woken up early, as he always did, to make his own breakfast, before beginning his work on the bunker he had mapped out. He was about seven years old now, still grey and still living in fear that a bergen would hunt them down one day. He currently lived in a tent he had constructed on his own made of tree branches and large leaves from trees nearby, it had taken several failed attempts before he was successful but he was proud of what he had made. He only hoped the construction of his bunker would go a little more smoothly, now that he had some knowledge on these matters. The young troll would cease his work on his underground bunker when the sun would rise high into the sky, letting him know it was time to set up for lunch. It was around this time that he would also meet with King Peppy everyday to report on anything suspicious he may have come across the night before. He may have been just a young troll, but he had a sharp eye for danger, the King had entrusted him completely with this task, maybe even more so then any of his own soldiers. Most of the trolls in the village remained oblivious to the dangers that surrounded them now, thinking nothing could be worse then the life they had lived when the Bergen's took over the Troll Tree._

 _On this particular day though, King Peppy had not met him in their usual meeting spot. After waiting for a period of time, at first assuming the King's duties were the cause of his tardiness, he began to grow worried that something might have happened while he was not on watch. Without a second thought he made his way into the Troll Village. Something he'd normally only do if he needed supplies from within the village or if he needed the King's assistance on a matter. He didn't even need to make it to the center of the village before he could hear other trolls conversing around him, giving him the answers he was looking for._

 _"Did you hear?" A female troll asked her male companion._

 _"That Princess Poppy has gone missing? Yeah, the King has every troll out on the look out as well as a huge search party set up to find her." The male responded with obvious worry._

 _"The poor girl is only two years old! Where could she possibly have gone to?" The voices began to fade as they walked of, and Branch could feel his heart begin to race in fear. Had he missed something? Did something or **someone** kidnap the princess! His mind began to race with all of the worse case scenarios as he took off back toward his camp._

 _'Calm down Branch, calm down.' He reassured himself before taking a deep breath._

 _'You know exactly how to handle this situation. First, check every checkpoint you have set up around the village. That will tell you if anyone had intruded upon the village to kidnap her, or if possible, the princess happened to wander outside of the village on her own.' Branch pep talked himself before grabbing a few essentials to assist him in his search. He did not bother to meet up with any of the trolls who we partaking in the King's search party, there were only a few trolls who had knowledge of Branch's checkpoints that he had set up, and he highly doubted that these areas would be the first place anyone would think to check. It was just quicker for him to investigate them on his own._

 _Branch had not forgotten the moment he had met the princess for the first time. He also had not forgotten the strong pull in his heart that he felt toward her once her eyes met. That had been over a year ago now, and he had avoided her ever since, the pink troll was still very young, but from what he knew about her, she was an incredibly positive thinking troll with a bubbly personality and a smile that could brighten anyone's day. She was also very bright for a two year old, and adapted quickly to their new surroundings. A troll as wonderful as her at such a young age didn't need someone like him hanging around._

 _Arriving at his fifth checkpoint in his search his immediately noticed something was not right. He felt his heart race within his chest again as he carefully analyzed the area, he did not immediately see anyone in the surrounding area. Picking up the string that appeared to have been snapped he could tell that someone from within the village had ventured outside of the area, he relaxed a bit knowing this. At least for now, there was no threat to the remainder of the trolls within the village; this meant the Princess had most likely ventured outside of the village on her own. Hopefully, he could locate her before any threat came upon her, and he could soon return her to her father and warn the two of them to not allow anything like this to happen again._

 _"Princess Poppy?" He called out in a loud voice, he then remained quiet, listening carefully again to his surroundings. After a few minutes, his ear twitched. He could faintly hear soft crying in a distance, without a second thought he took off in the direction of the noise. As he closed in, he could tell it was a young female troll who was crying softly, he slowed his pace as he approached a large moss covered rock that sat close to a slow moving stream, he could see a tuft of pink hair popping out from the other side._

 _"Princess Poppy?" he called out again softly from a short distance away, not wanting to frighten the young princess. He could hear her gasp before her crying grew a bit louder._

 _"W-who's dere!" She mumbled, sniffling slightly._

 _"My names Branch, I live in the Troll Village, everyone's looking for you." Branch continued to make slow steps toward her, wondering why she wouldn't come out from behind the large rock._

 _"I…I'm… My foot is stuck…" Well that answered his question. He walked around the rock completely, and made himself visible to her now. She looked at him with wide, terrified eyes that were full of tears. The fear in the grey trolls heart disappeared only to be replaced with a soft ache upon seeing the pink trolls tear stained face._

 _"Don't worry…" He said soothingly, a bit surprised he could even speak that way to someone._

 _"_ _I will get you out of here and return you safely." He finished, before looking down to analyze the situation. Her foot had become lodged between the large boulder she was hidden behind, and another smaller rock that was not easy visible underneath the water._

 _"May I come closer to you?" He asked hesitantly as he removed his bag from his shoulders, he did not want to startle her too much, she already seemed traumatized enough as it is, and he knew his appearance was probably a bit strange to her. She nodded gently with a sniff._

 _"Please… I'm reawy cold." She pleaded with him, it seems his appearance was not strange to her, and she had already began to calm down from the moment he had made his presence known. This helped him relax a bit more as he stepped into the cool water of the stream as well and got closer to her. He dug around in his bag in search of something that would allow him to free her foot without injuring her at all. Finding what he needed he submerged himself a bit further into the water and placed a gentle hand on her small foot._

 _"I'll do my best, but sliding it out may sting a little." He warned her cautiously, she watched him carefully and nodded. Wedging his metal shovel between the too rocks, careful to keep the sharp object a safe distance from the young princess' foot, he gently held her foot steady with one hand, and pried the two rocks apart with the other. With a little bit of strength, he was soon able to move the smaller rock in the water far enough to slip her foot out with ease._

 _"There we go, you're foot is free." He commented, earning a happy squeal from Poppy._

 _"That didn't hurt at all!" She exclaimed and he couldn't resist the smile that formed on his lips. Lifting the princess up out of the water he set her down on the larger boulder before reaching down to grab the shovel he had used to free her. He then put the wet shovel away and grabbed a towel from within his bag to wrap the shivering princess within its warmth._

 _"There, this should help you warm up." He stated._

 _"But… what about you?" The young princess asked with a look of concern, it surprised him a bit that someone so young could be concerned about someone else, normally trolls at this age were only concerned about themselves, he just waved her off._

 _"I'll be alright, once we get you back to the village I'll find something to dry off." He reassured her, and then made a move to change the subject before she could object any further._

 _"Anyway, how is your foot do you think you can walk?" This earned a pout from Princess Poppy as she shook her head._

 _"_ _It scwaped up pwetty bad… It'll hurt to walk…" He wasn't sure if she was acting as a damsel in distress here on purpose so he examined the foot himself. She was right, it was scrapped up pretty bad, she must have done a number on herself in an attempt to free herself. With a sign, he shouldered his bag again before moving to lift the young princess into his arms. This effortless action earned a bright pink blush from the pink troll._

 _"Alright I'll carry you to your father." He reassured her, attempting to ignore the blush he had seen on her face so he wouldn't end up blushing as well. But he failed; he too felt his cheeks flush hot as they made their way back toward the village. How was it possible someone this young could feel embarrassed?_

 _"So… why were you out here anyway? This is outside the limits of the Troll Village you know." He asked curiously, partially in an attempt to ease the embarrassment, and partially out of his own curiosity. This caused the young Poppy to pout again._

 _"Pwomise not to get mad at me?" She stated before answering his question, this caused a sigh to escape from the grey troll._

 _"Alright, I promise." Branch reluctantly agreed._

 _"I… was picking flowers for Papa…" She answered shyly. Well that was quite the reason so cause so much panic around the village, but he couldn't help the warmth he felt within his heart as he eyed the small bouquet of flowers she still had clutched in her small hands. She was just doing something that she believed would make her father happy._

 _"Well, there are plenty of flowers like these within the limits of the Troll Village. If you're not sure where they are I can… I can show you next time." He offered kindly, he truly did not want to scold the poor girl who had looked so terrified moments ago. What she was trying to do wasn't wrong; she just didn't have full knowledge of all of her surroundings yet. Out of the corner of his eye, Branch could see Poppy's eyes sparkle with his offer._

 _"Reawy!" She exclaimed, causing the grey troll to smile a little again before he nodded. The happy princess giggled as he saw her eyelids begin to grow heavy._

 _"You can rest, I'll have to back to your father soon." He reassured her. The young princess nodded before closing her eyes and snuggling herself comfortably into his arms, causing the grey trolls heart to beat wildly. Before he could say another word, she was sound asleep, astounding the grey troll once again. She could be too trusting and defenseless sometimes..._

 _"I reawy like you Bwanch… thanks… for saving me…" She whispered almost inaudibly while still asleep, but he caught every word. He stared wide eyed, surprised by Poppy's honest feelings, every word had made his heart soar, and he could not ignore the slight twinge of happiness he felt deep within._

 _"I'll… always be there to save you Princess Poppy…" He silently vowed._

 _-End of Flashback-_

* * *

The memory of the first time he had come to Poppy's rescue had served to ease his anxiety a little, he was able to hone in more on his senses as he surveyed the surrounding area. To his left, a large group of spiders caught his eye, upon further inspection it looked as if they were about to tear into a new meal that had fallen within their grasp. Something about the situation did not sit right with him, so he decided to close in quietly to get a better look. Once the clearing was in full view he was able to catch sight of the spiders new meal, immediately his heart dropped. That pink tuft of hair sticking out from within the webbed cocoon was something he would not miss anywhere.

"Poppy!" He whispered in a panic as he made his way into the clearing. The spiders were closing in around her he needed to act fast.

"Not on my watch." Branch grumbled once he was within a reasonable distance he whipped his hair forward to grab the troll encased in the spiders web and back toward him away from the danger. The arachnids' gazes followed their food as it got away from them and once they saw Branch appear from behind his black hair they hissed, angry that their meal had been stolen from them. Branch gave the group of spiders a threatening glare and jumped over the web cocoon to protect Poppy.

Arming himself with a frying pan, he hurled it at the group of spiders closing in on them with all of his strength. It hit one of the spiders in the head and served to stop them for a moment, but it had ended up angering them even more, and they seem to charge at the troll pair fiercer then ever. Branch's confidence faltered for a moment before his desire to protect the defenseless, unconscious princess behind him burned hotter then ever, he disposed of the bag he carried on his back and proceeded to fiercely whip the herd of spiders with his extended troll hair. It worked, they began to back off, he ended up pushing them back far enough that they found themselves trapped within the mouth of another creature Branch hadn't even know was in the area. The creature snapped his mouth shut once he noticed he had been served a meal and gazed down a Branch, this caused the grey troll to jump back a bit defensively, assuming this creature now had it's sights set on him. But the creature simply lowered itself deeper into the earth and closed its eyes, seemingly satisfied with its recent meal.

Branch heaved a sigh of relief, only to have that relief quickly replaced with panic and worry over the pink troll who still remained unconscious behind him. He gasped as the panic began to set in and he began to worry that it was possible that he might be to late!

"Oh no, Poppy!" He rushed over to the princess and listened through the web cocoon carefully for a heartbeat or for her breathing, when he heard nothing his heart began to race painfully.

"Hang on!" he called out in hopes that deep within her consciousness she would be able to hear him. He didn't know where he found it, usually in this type of situation he expected the worst, but he still held hope that he hadn't been too late and she still had a chance. Moving quickly, he tore off a sharp piece from a nearby plant and grabbed hold of a couple of lightening bugs crawling nearby. Tearing through the web casing surrounding the troll princess with the sharp plant, he quickly rubbed the lightening bugs together before bringing them to her chest to shock her awake, a look of panic and worry was plastered on his features the entire time. The moment after he had shocked her, as he waited for some sort of response, seemed like the longest... most agonizing moment of his life.

"Get back up again!" she sang as she sprang forward and was brought back to consciousness. Branch could not contain the tiny smirk that followed this reaction from her, _of course_ she had been singing when she got herself caught up in this mess, it was just so _Poppy._ He felt instant relief wash over him as well and she seemed to come alive again right before his eyes.

 _'Thank goodness… I wasn't too late after all…'_

"Branch! My man, you are right on time." Branch felt his heart jump a bit in his chest when Poppy referred to him as _'her man'_ , but he quickly brushed the feeling away knowing there was no deeper meaning behind her words

"Oh right, like you knew I was coming." Branch chided as he rolled his eyes, it was strange how sometimes Poppy could read him like an open book.

"Yes, I figured after the third hug time, getting eaten by a bergen wouldn't seem so bad." Well she wasn't too far off there; he had actually snuck out of his bunker before the second hug time was initiated, but she didn't need to know that. Branch continued to glare at her as he slung his bag over his shoulders again, now that the adrenaline rush from protecting and saving her from the arachnids had begun to fade, he felt himself growing slightly irritated with the Troll Princess. She just had a near death experience, and she's acting like there was nothing wrong all along? Seriously what was going on in this girls head?

"And I figured there was no way you could do this by yourself." Branch retorted, okay so maybe it was only half true. He conveniently left out his desire he had to protect her, as well as the conversation he had with her father before he left.

"Guess we were both right." He added with a smug look on his face. Poppy only looked at him unimpressed.

"Hm. Alright! Let's do this!" Poppy exclaimed as she began to walk away from Branch, unfazed by his comments yet again.

"The sooner we get to Bergen Town, the sooner we can rescue everyone and make it home safely." Poppy added casually, as if this were the easiest task to accomplish in the world.

"Wait, wait, wait." Branch called as he followed the overly confident princess, seriously how could _anyone_ be this _positive_! Especially after a near death experience! This journey literally almost killed her and she hadn't even made it to Bergen Town yet!

"What's your plan?"

"I just told you, to rescue everyone and make it home safely." She replied slightly annoyed, Branch rolled his eyes.

"Okay, that's not a plan, that's a wish list." Branch could tell he was starting to get on the princess' nerves slightly, he always seemed to know which buttons to push with her, just as she seemed to know what buttons to push on him as well.

" _Oh!_ I suppose _you_ have a plan." Poppy spat back, stopping to turn around and face the grumpy troll. Clearing his throat he began…

"First, we get to the edge of Bergen Town without being spotted." Branch, being caught up in describing his plan animatedly, didn't even notice the Troll Princess had begun to lay out her scrapbooking materials with a smirk on her face.

"Then we get inside by sneaking through the old escape tunnels, which will then lead us to the Troll Tree. Right before we get caught and suffer a miserable death at the hands of a horrible blood thirsty bergen!" as he finished, he finally noticed all the materials laying on the ground at his feet surrounding Poppy as she lay on her stomach leisurely, cutting out patterns on some felt. Is she serious right now?

"Hold on a second are you scrapbooking my plan?" Branch asked in disbelief. How did she get all of that stuff here anyway? Had she even bothered to pack any essential materials? This concluded that no… no she did not.

"Uh huh yeah… Almost!." Snip.

"Done!" Poppy's held the quickly made scrapbook out in front of him and his face deadpanned. Poppy's ending was a bit different then he had described, once again throwing her own positive spin on the tale. Soon enough, glitter once again sprayed all over his face; he honestly believed she added this feature on purpose whenever he was involved. He continued to stare at the princess who was giving him a bright innocent smile, not amused.

"There will be no more…" Branch brought a finger to one nostril before blowing glitter from his nose that had lodged itself up there somehow.

"Scrapbooking…" He concluded before marching his way past the princess and back through the forest. Branch could hear Poppy giggle behind him before she started to hum a familiar tune and gathered all of her belongings before following him.

Branch would never admit this to anyone, but as he glanced back at the pink troll tagging along behind him, he found himself smiling, despite how irritated she had made him just moments before. He was relieved they could banter like this with one another again, but also… he was… dare he say it… a bit happy? He couldn't quite be sure that this was happiness that he was feeling yet, although it was a feeling that often came up when he was around Poppy, but it confused him he wasn't _used_ to feeling like this anymore, not since he turned grey. There was one thing he was sure of though, if he had to be stuck on a long journey that constantly threatened their lives, he was glad it was Poppy who was at his side.

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 ** _(AN: Another chapter down! I'm so happy to hear that you all are enjoying hearing the story from what I view as Branch's POV. Thank you for all of your support and keep reviewing! I will hopefully have the next chapter up in a few days!)_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Branch's Perspective**

 _Description: The Original Trolls Story from Branch's Perspective as he battles with his feelings for Poppy and struggles with his lifelong depression over losing everyone he loved and held dear. A few extra scenes have been thrown in to help better understand everyone's favorite grumpy grey toll. A Broppy FanFic._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls or the plot, it belongs to Dreamworks Productions, I also do not own the song in this chapter 'Sound of Silence' it belongs to Paul Simon.**

 _Constructive criticism is welcome flaming is not._

 ** _AN: Another day, another chapter! I'm trying to post as frequently as I can and hope they are posting within a reasonable amount of time! Thank you for all of your review so far and continue to let me know what you think!_**

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Chapter Four

It didn't take long before Branch started to become slightly irritated with his noisy travel companion. Don't get him wrong; he was very glad that Poppy was one hundred percent back to her normal self after that terrifying incident with the spiders, but he was used to _silence_ and _solitude._ Princess Poppy was the _opposite_ of that… After failing to hold a conversation with the grey troll, she settled for singing and sometimes even _dancing_ as they made their way through a dangerous forest to get to the outskirts of Bergen Town. Sure, he loved hearing her voice and he knew, had they not been in constant danger, that he could probably listen to her sing all day, but it was making it very difficult for him to concentrate and be aware of anything they may try to attack them from behind. Besides doesn't she ever get tired?

"Do you _have_ to sing?" Branch groaned, finally deciding he had, had enough and made his displeasure known.

"I always sing when I'm in a good mood." Poppy responded to him cheerfully.

"Do you _have_ to be in a good mood?" Was this princess ever in a _bad_ mood? He didn't think so, not from what he saw from her anyway. This was Princess Poppy, she was always positive, always looked on the bright side of things, and never gave up on a single task she was ever given; everyone in troll village looked up to her and admired her. These were just some of the traits about her that attracted him to her the most.

"Why wouldn't I be? By this time tomorrow, I'll be with all my friends!" The troll princess responded excitedly behind him as she flipped and bounced around on the log they had currently been walking on. He tried not to show that he was nervous about what she was doing back there, her recklessness could cause her to slip on a patch of wet moss and fall off. So he made sure not to travel too far ahead in case this did happen and he needed to be quick to catch her.

"Ooh! I wonder what they're doing right now." Seriously? If they _were_ alive they were probably terrified as they were being held captive somewhere, they also could've already been eaten. Both possible situations were terrifying, was that really something to be happy about? Did she think they were enjoying cake together alongside the Bergen's? The terrifying creatures that _chased_ them out of their former home?

"Probably being digested." He said sarcastically, although he halfway believed this statement to be true.

"They're alive Branch, I know it!" This comment rubbed him the wrong way, and he felt something within him snap, he turned toward the pink troll and glared at her while responding a bit more harshly then he should have.

"You don't know _anything_ Poppy. And I can't wait to see the look on your face when you realize the world isn't all cupcakes and rainbows. 'Cause it isn't! Bad things happen and there is _nothing_ you can do about it." Although it was harsh, and more than likely hard to hear for the princess, he spoke from truth, from _experience_ and a difficult past. He could feel that he desperately wanted her to understand him, to _listen_ to his reasoning and believe him. But… she most likely never would… nothing really bad has ever happened to her, she was too young when they evacuated the Troll Tree to remember her time there, heck she hadn't even been born yet when King Peppy lost his wife, her mother…

 **(AN: So I thought I'd mention here my idea on how the Trolls reproduce. I had a couple questions about it in reviews and I apologize for not elaborating further! I'd like to keep it G rated for younger readers and viewers of the movie so for this stories purposes, when Trolls are married and establish a good foundation of true love, happiness and trust with one another, a Troll Pod can appear (no R rated stuff involved), this is where a baby troll will grow and be born from. This can only happen for Trolls who are Soul Matches or Soul Mates. The mother and father then infuse their troll hair with the pod to claim the child, and form a bond the baby needs to thrive. So in Poppy's case she was born shortly after the Trollstis where her mother had sacrificed her life for King Peppy, (One year before they escaped the Troll Tree), which explains why Poppy's mother died before she was born. King Peppy and his wife had already fused their hair with Poppy's birth pod to form the bond needed for her to live, and was almost ready to "hatch" when her mother lost her life, King Peppy was able to care for the pod until her birth. It's kind of similar to animals who hatch from eggs, many mothers die before the eggs hatch, but the eggs can still live if there is someone or something to keep them warm.**

 **Also I plan to write more stories in the future that elaborate further on these back stories, specifically one for Poppy's Birthday :) I hope this helps explain my idea and helps the story flow better let me know in the reviews if it makes sense!)**

Most of Poppy's memories were gained during their peaceful time in the Troll Village. So how could he blame her for not understanding him? It was also his own fault for never being able to open up to anyone about his reason for being grey. As he walked away from her, too upset to face her right now, his statement actually caused Poppy to pause and remain still and silent for a moment.

"Hey, I know it's not all cupcakes and rainbows… but I'd rather go through life thinking that it mostly is instead of being like _you."_ She began to retort, just as he thought, she couldn't understand him, but in the same aspect, he couldn't understand her either, there is no way he'd ever want to live so obliviously and naïve again in a world filled with so much danger.

"You don't sing, you don't dance… so _grey_ all the time. What happened to yo…"

"Sh!" Branch silenced her with his finger before she could go on any further. This conversation was starting down a road he wasn't ready to explain or share with her right now, it had already began to dig up painful memories that he'd much rather not relive right now, and this certainly was not the time or place for such a conversation either.

"A bergen?!" The princess questioned with fear, making her own assumptions on Branch's actions. He decided to take advantage this and roll with it.

"Maybe." He whispered dramatically before continuing forward once again. Poppy was slow to follow as she glanced around her anxiously in search of a creature that wasn't actually there. It didn't take long for before she realized what he was doing though.

"There's no Bergen is there… You just said that so I'd stop talking!" She stated accusingly, clearly annoyed.

"Maybe…" He whispered again, giving her no inclination that he'd explain himself any further, and had intention on continuing their conversation from earlier. His tactic worked in ending that unwanted conversation and the troll princess actually remained silent for a short period of time afterward, but this was most likely because she was annoyed and frustrated with the grumpy grey toll, and not because she was trying to honor to his wishes. It wasn't long before she was chipper again and she resumed her singing once again. Branch rolled his eyes, but decided not to stop her this time. He just did the best he could to remain aware of their surroundings, with what he had to work with.

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The night sky now created a sparkling blanket over the forest, right as the day turned to dusk Branch had insisted they stopped moving forward to set up camp and rest for the night. Poppy seemed reluctant at first; anxious to reach Bergen Town and save her friends before anything really did happen to them. He reasoned with the princess explaining that it was much more dangerous for the troll pair to travel at night, more dangerous creatures lurked in the night and with limited visibility Branch was not confident that he could keep them safe if they kept moving.

Branch was actually surprised that the troll princess hadn't put up much more of a fight then that, but after observing her while they set up camp he could tell she was only putting on a brave face. The all positive and happy-go-lucky princess who believed nothing bad could ever happen to her, must actually be worried about being in an unfamiliar place and must not be completely comfortable with sleeping in the middle of the forest for the night. Branch laid out his sleeping bag, and located a large, dry, durable and comfortable leaf that the princess could wrap herself in for the night, he quickly set up a fire and the two of them slipped into their beds to rest for the night barely speaking a word to each other. As he closed his eyes, he became hyper aware of the silence surrounding them, soon he could hear Poppy begin to toss and turn anxiously within her sleeping bag, and it began to worry him every time an uncomfortable sigh escaped her lips. Branch's eyes cracked open a little bit filled with worry for the pink troll, maybe this whole situation was taking a larger toll on the her then he had expected. Before he could say anything though he heard her begin to speak.

"So special…" she whispered. What was she…

"Good night Cooper, Good night Smidge…" Branch silenced the annoyed groan that threatened to escape his lips. She was saying good night to her friends? Really?

"Good night Fuzzbert, Goodnight Satin, Goodnight Chenille." Branch rolled his eyes at her before closing them again to rest, no longer feeling the desire to say something to her to ease her anxiety. Deep down though, he was secretly hoping Poppy would wish him good night too when she was finished… but, he highly doubted that would happen. Soon after he squashed those thoughts, he heard her speak someone's name in a tone that made his skin crawl.

"Good night Creek… Boop!" By this point he could no longer contain his irritation, and dare he admit it… jealousy?

"And good night Poppy!" He snapped, before turning his head to face away from her again. Once he began to relax, and thought silence would be welcoming them again, he heard the familiar chime of Poppy's hug time bracelet going off before hearing the princess shoot up into a sitting position within her sleeping bag. Once again he contained a groan that threatened to escape, knowing that she was going to target him for this particular hug time.

"Don't… even…. Think about it." He growled, still irritated. Branch knew the princess was anxious and probably could have used the comfort right now, but he really was _not_ in the mood… not that he ever was. Right now Branch was also very uncomfortable with his surroundings even though he knew that he was fully prepared, then there was the fact the _Poppy_ was lying right beside him on the other side of the fire. Not once had they ever been in this close of proximity to each other, alone… at night, and regardless of how hard he had tried to ignore it over this years, Creek and Poppy's relationship, whether there was a romantic one or not, just did not sit right with him.

 _"Stars shinning bright above you…"_

"Really?" He rolled back over and rested his weight on his arm as soon as he heard the pink troll start to sing.

"Seriously? More singing?!" he complained.

"Yes seriously! Singing helps me relax…" Ah so she's finally admitting to her discomfort.

"Maybe you ought a try it." He grinded his teeth again with this comment from her, here she is again saying things and trying to get him to do things without fully understanding him…

"I _DON'T_ sing, and I _DON'T_ relax! This is the way I am! And I like it! I'd also like a little silence!" he snapped at her before throwing himself back down in his sleeping bag and turning away from her again. What he said was only half true, while he did enjoy silence sometimes, especially in times like these, he was only content with the way he was because it was all he has known now for twenty years. No one, not even himself had ever tried to change anything all this time and it felt like it was impossible for him to return to being a happy, singing and dancing troll again. Deep down though, he wished he could know what happiness truly felt like once again… He sighed as these thoughts passed through his head, there was no way he could ever admit something like that to the princess, it was just impossible for him to break down that wall he built to keep everyone out, so this is how things would have to remain…

Branch's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he head the sound of a guitar playing? What the heck? There was only one possible person who it could be and he couldn't help but wonder where in the world she had gotten it from. Rolling back over to sit up and face her once again, he watched her in disbelief.

 _"Hello darkness my old friend."_ Poppy angelic voice began, she had been standing within close proximity to him before backing up slowly, watching him mockingly.

 _"I've come to talk with you again."_

 _"Hello."_ As Poppy continued several creatures of the night began to sing along with her as if they had been lured in by her beautiful voice. A spider of much smaller scale then what they had encountered earlier that day had even dared to crawl up onto his shoulder, he quickly flicked the spider away, but continued to watch the Troll Princess in awe and disbelief as she continued, luring him in with her voice and beauty as well, it was as if she was putting on a concert just for him, even it is was initially an attempt to annoy him.

 _"Because a vision softly creeping.  
_ _Left it's seeds while I was sleeping.  
_ _In the vision that was planted in my brain…  
_ _Still remains."_

Seriously though where were all these creatures coming from? He had no idea there had been so many of them in the surrounding area and it freaked him out a little bit. Thankfully it seemed none of them had intended to harm the troll pair at all.

 _"Within the sound…  
_ _Of Silence…"_

Poppy finished her little number and approached Branch, who watched her with an unimpressed look, as all of the creatures of the night disappeared behind her. As much as he enjoyed listening to her in that moment, Poppy was watching him with a smug look on her face, almost seeming triumphant. It actually was impressive, she had used his harsh statement from earlier as twisted it into a form of a song, an action she assumed he would grow irritated with.

 _'Solid burn Poppy.'_ He thought to himself as he pushed himself up to stand back on his feet, pride began to take over and he found himself not wanting to admit to her that he had been impressed and rather enjoyed her little concert. Instead, he held his hands out to her, wanting to make sure he could get his point across from earlier.

"May I?" he asked softly, showing no signs of evil intent. A little surprised, and assuming she had gotten through to him, she easily handed the little guitar over to him, she almost appeared as if she were pleased with his actions. But that didn't last long, after holding it for a short moment; he held a straight face with a fake smile plastered on it before tossing the instrument into the nearby campfire. The strings of the guitar made a noise as the caught fire, and not another word was spoken as Branch climbed back into his sleeping bag, and the princess remained still for a while as if trying to piece together the events that had just occurred.

 _'Solid burn, returned.'_ Branch thought to himself as he heard Poppy sigh sadly behind him before finally climbing back into her sleeping bag. Branch listened as Poppy soon began to toss and turn uncomfortably again, but this time made no motion to speak or sing. He could tell she was attempting to be as silent as possible now and it was making his heart feel heavy. As he recalled the decisions he had just made earlier, he realized that what he had done was pretty mean… He knew it wasn't what she needed right now, and she was only attempting to calm herself down with the only thing she knew could calm her down. But because they both could never understand each other, he ended up acting on poor decisions and possibly hurting her in an attempt to get his own point across… No matter how hard he tried, he could never find it within himself to be the troll she needed, especially in difficult situations like these.

After a while, he could hear that her breathing had finally begun to settle down, signaling that the princess had finally fallen asleep. Quietly, he rolled himself back over to face the kind hearted troll princess and was a bit surprised to find that she was also facing him, he could feel his face flush a bit with embarrassment and just assumed she had rolled over because she had preferred to feel the warmth of the fire on her face as she slept. The light from the campfire danced across the pink trolls beautiful features, and he could see that she wasn't having a restful sleep, her brows were knitted with worry, her lips formed slightly in a pout and her eyelids flickered as if she were fighting a bad dream. He could feel his heart twist within his chest as he watched her, and held back the strong urge he felt to reach out to her and hold her hand in an attempt to provide her some comfort.

"I'm sorry Poppy…" he mumbled softly as he continued to watch her with worry, he had no right to touch her, especially when he was partially to blame for her feeling this way right now.

"I can't… comfort you…" he added, it was an apology for his actions from before, as well as an apology for never being able to be the troll she wanted him to be. All of which should be said in person, while she was awake, but never would.

"But… I can promise you this…" He continued as he spoke a little more confidently, watching her with determined eyes.

"I will protect you… No harm will ever come to you while you're with me…" He declared quietly, knowing well that for her sake, he would not sleep a wink tonight so he could keep watch; he would guard her until morning, just as he promised. Poppy's expression seemed to relax slightly, almost as if she had heard every word he had said. He smiled slightly as she relaxed, it may not have been much, but it was all he could do and it seemed it was enough for her right now.

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 ** _(AN: Chapter four complete! Please review and let me know what you think!)_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Branch's Perspective**

 _Description: The Original Trolls Story from Branch's Perspective as he battles with his feelings for Poppy and struggles with his lifelong depression over losing everyone he loved and held dear. A few extra scenes have been thrown in to help better understand everyone's favorite grumpy grey toll. A Broppy FanFic._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls or the plot, it belongs to Dreamworks Productions**

 _Constructive criticism is welcome flaming is not._

 ** _(AN: Thank you all so much! I seriously have some of the best readers and reviews on here, you are all so kind and it gives me the motivation to post chapters sooner for you all! I apologize this one took longer to post, but I had it all typed and right as I was about to finish the document became corrupted :( I ended up having to retype the entire chapter again because there was no way I could restore it. Anyway, hope you enjoy Chapter Five!)_**

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Chapter Five

The following morning, Branch awoke right as dawn was breaking. Glancing over the the princess slumbering peacefully beside him he couldn't help but crack a smile at her very un-princesslike sleeping position. Her mouth hung wide open and her 'blanket' long forgotten as she lay sprawled out on her makeshift bed. Quietly the grey troll rolled up his sleeping bag, before walking over to wrap Poppy back up within hers allowing her to sleep for a little while longer. In the meantime he decided to start cooking breakfast for them before they continued on with their journey.

Poppy awoke to the scent of breakfast being cooked, groggily she arose from her sleeping bag and rubbed her eyes.

"Mornin' Princess." Greeted a familiar voice. Once her vision came to, she could see Branch sitting beside the campfire, frying eggs in a frying pan she assumed he had stored in his bag, the aroma coming from the pan smelled delicious and she suddenly felt her stomach growl… and it was loud. She caught Branch's amused smirk out of the corner of her eye and felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"How early is it?" She questioned in an attempt to direct their attention elsewhere, noticing that the sun had barely risen into the sky yet.

"Early." Branch answered simply.

"Once we are finished eating, we will be heading out again." Poppy nodded in agreement as she came to sit beside Branch near the fire in an effort to keep warm. She did not notice the grey trolls embarrassment as she took her seat close to him.

"I didn't know you could cook." Poppy mentioned casually, attempting to make light conversation. Branch just shrugged his shoulders, trying not to be too aware of the lack of distance between them.

"I live alone, I needed to learn." He answered as if it were obvious, glancing at her he noticed she was also looking at him with a look of sorrow, he quickly averted his eyes away from her and went to remove the eggs from the frying pan onto makeshift plates. Handing Poppy her plate, he bashfully put a little more distance between the two before taking a bit of his own meal.

"It's… not much, but I had to make do with what we had." He mumbled, not wanting to look the Troll Princess in the eye, this was the first time he had ever cooked anything for anyone else before and he had to admit it was a little nerve wracking. This also wasn't just _anyone_ he was cooking for, it was _Poppy._

"Oh wow! Branch these are really good!" Poppy exclaimed, he assumed she must've just been over exaggerating to be nice, but when his eyes met hers again he saw nothing but truth and excitement within them, her bright smile lighting up her whole face. His heart began to beat faster with the realization that she had meant every word that she just said, and could feel his cheeks get a bit hot.

"My eggs never come out this good!" She continued to praise him, and he averted his eyes again. She was acting like this was the best meal she had ever eaten, and he knew that there was no way that could even be possible. Shaking the over confident thoughts that began to form from his mind, he told himself she must either be a really bad cook or was extremely hungry and he brain was just playing tricks with her. But, not wanting to damper her bright mood, he only found himself able to mumble.

"Uh… thanks." The remainder of their meal was eaten in silence, Branch made sure to clean up their camp and ensure the fire was out before they set foot toward Bergen Town again. They didn't have much further to travel, in fact it seemed as if they had arrived at the outskirts of Bergen Town in no time at all. They soon came upon a clearing when they could see several tunnels dug out of a large dirt covered wall, nostalgia began to wash over the grey troll at they cautiously emerged from the confines of the forest and entered the clearing.

"So… one of these tunnels leads to the Troll Tree…" Poppy commented as she followed close behind him, gazing at the overwhelming amount of tunnels with worry.

"That's right." Branch confirmed as he approached one of the tunnels and removed his bag from his shoulders.

"There's so many of them… I wonder which one…" Poppy continued as Branch knelt down to examine the tunnel he had approached, hoping he would be able to find some sort of clue that would confirm which tunnel King Peppy had led the Trolls through when they escaped their former home. The only knowledge he had was that _one_ of these tunnels lead to the Troll Tree. He had no idea where any of the other ones would lead them to and he was pretty sure he didn't want to find out.

"I don't know…" Branch answered vaguely. He knew Poppy was only voicing her concerns each time she made note about the tunnels, but he was in no state to be able to ease her worries at the moment. Not only did he not have enough knowledge and did not want to lie to her. But it was taking everything he had in him to suppress the memories that threatened to resurface with every step they made closer to Bergen Town. This place held so many painful memories for him that he did not wish to relive, and although he swore to himself that he would go through with this knowing this would happen, just so Poppy would be safe… it was proving to be harder to handle then he thought it would be. Luckily, he was able to control it enough so that the princess had no idea what inner turmoil he was facing right now.

 _"_ _Choose a hole wisely."_ Suddenly, while Branch was attempting to come up with a plan, an unfamiliar voice echoed all around them. The troll pair looked around a bit startled and confused, the grey troll first eyed Poppy suspiciously to make sure she wasn't trying to pull some sort of trick on him. When he realized she appeared just as confused as he was he began to grow a bit anxious, fearing they may be in some sort of danger. They then whipped around to examine the clearing they were residing in, attempting to catch a glance of any sort of movement nearby.

 _"_ _For one will lead to Bergen Town, and the others…. TO CERTAIN DEATH, DEATH, DEATH."_ They were having no luck in attempting to locate whomever was speaking to them, so Branch decided to address the voice head on.

"Who said that?!" Branch shouted, while keeping up his guard, he needed to be able to jump in front of the princess beside him on a moments notice to protect her, he couldn't let anything slip by.

 _"_ _IT WAS…_ me." Finally all their previous questions were answered only to be replaced with new ones as a talking cloud made his presence known from behind a large tree not too far from where they were currently.

"Hey guys, hows it going?" The walking, talking cloud began casually as he made his way over to them.

"Welcome to the root tunnels." Poppy cocked her head in disbelief and confusion as she watched the strange character approach them not sure what to make of him, and Branch, also not sure how to react, remained half guarded and also watched in slight confusion. Not once in all his years of travels around the troll village had he ever come in contact with a cloud who could talk, let alone have legs and walk. Had Poppy not seemed to be in as much disbelief as he was, he might've started to think that his mind was starting to play tricks on him. So, since this was very new to him he continued to eye this Cloud Guy, watching him carefully to try and get some sort or read or vibe off of him.

"Uh, I just wanted to warn you, one of these tunnels leads to the troll tree… and the others, _to certain death, death, death…_ " Okay so warning them seemed harmless, but why was he dramatically emphasizing 'to certain death'? While Poppy eyed Cloud Guy curiously, and glanced at Branch to gage his reaction on the matter, he remained silent. Branch just couldn't seem to piece a puzzle together with this guy was couldn't be entirely sure that they should trust him, not that Branch was one to ever simply trust anyone who crossed his path to begin with. Poppy on the other hand…

"Do you think you could tell us which is the right one?" The princess questioned politely. Of course Poppy wouldn't think twice about asking anyone for help.

"You bet." Cloud guy replied, but held a questioningly smug look on his face that did not sit right with Branch.

"Great!"

"No that's okay…" Branch interrupted the princess before she could say anything further, and put himself between the troll princess and Cloud Guy holding out a protective arm in front of her and attempted to lead her away from the strange cloud. He wasn't about to let all his efforts on this journey go to waste just because this guy _seemed_ harmless to Poppy.

"We're fine thanks."

"Branch!" Poppy chided the grey troll before laughing nervously and shooting Cloud Guy an apologetic look. She then refocused her attention on the grey troll, stopping his attempt to leave in an effort to reason with him. Branch decided to hear what she had to say.

"He's trying to help us." She pleaded with him, her eyes begging him to trust her. Classic Poppy, she always had this uncanny ability to try and see the best in others, no matter how different or stance they may seem. Branch knew that better than anyone.

"I don't like the looks of him." Branch attempted to argue as he turned back toward Cloud Guy eyeing him cautiously.

"I mean… who wears socks with no shoes?" Cloud Guy noticed the troll pair looking at him and smiled at them innocently before giving them a friendly wave. Okay, so it was a pathetic argument on his part he had to admit, but there was just something about this guy the didn't sit right with him. It wasn't anything life threatening, but something was making him uncomfortable, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"He seems to know what he's talking about." Poppy pleaded as Branch found himself getting lost in her eyes that were once again pleading with him to trust her. The longer she held his gaze, the more he felt his resolve slipping away. It didn't take long for him to give in to her pleas, and decide to give this cloud a chance.

"Okay fine." Branch reluctantly agreed before turning around to face Cloud Guy again. He swore, this princess could get him to do just about anything she set her mind to. If she tried hard enough, one day he could find himself jumping into a pool of rainbows, simply because she asked him to do so.

"Which way do we go?" Branch asked still eyeing the cloud warily.

"First you have to give me a high five, then I'll tell you." Cloud Guy replied smugly as he held up his hand. What in the world did a high five have to do with anything, and why in the world would that even be a requirement? Suddenly all of Branch's suspicions were starting to come into the light.

"What?!" Branch spat before Poppy interrupted him, bouncing over to the Cloud Guy excitedly.

"Oh, oh I love high fives! I'll do it!" She stated before holding up her hand as well. Branch could only stare at the two in disbelief.

"Oh I know you'll do it… But, will he?" Branch glared at Cloud Guy as he eyed him teasingly. So _this_ was his target huh? Somehow this cloud knew that the grey troll was not fond of playful actions, or _touching_ for that matter and was using this opportunity to tease him.

"Alright dumpy diapers, up high." The cloud shook himself as if he were readying for a battle before holding his hand up to the grey troll once again. Branch crossed his arms over his chest, there was no way he was going to let this guy get to him, nor would he back down and give him what he wanted.

"Nope, I don't do high fives." Branch retorted, informing the cloud of information he obviously already knew.

"Slap it boss." Cloud Guy stubbornly continued, what the cloud didn't knew was just how stubborn the grey troll could be, especially when it came to matters like this.

"Not gonna happen."

"Party on the top floor."

"Nope."

"Little slappy? Make daddy happy?" Seriously? Did he just hear that correctly? This guys teasing could get merciless if this was that direction it was starting to take.

"That's weird." Branch admitted.

"Come on, just one little high five." It seemed as Branch's stubbornness was starting to wear this guy thin and he couldn't help but smirk triumphantly.

"Oh no thanks I'm good." At this point Poppy, who had been silent up until now, had come to stand beside Branch again and out of the corner of his eye he could see the look of disbelief written all over her face. He could practically feel what she was thinking and knew she would undoubtedly interrupt soon.

"Here just do this…" The cloud, annoyingly demonstrated a high five for the grey troll with his own hand as if the grey troll had never witnessed an action like this before.

"Just with your hand." Branch really wanted to wipe that smug look off his face right about now.

"Thank you for that demonstration, really cleared up exactly what I will _not_ be doing." Branch deflected again, giving the cloud another hard glare.

"Branch! It's a high five, the others lead to certain death… get perspective!" Poppy cried, and there she was again, the voice of reason. He knew his actions were childish right now, but his pride did not want to allow this guy to win. Poppy's voice rang through his hand, causing his thoughts bounced back a forth for a few moments before once again this princess was able to make him cave, getting him to do things he had refused to do with anyone for the last twenty years. Branch groaned before speaking again.

"One high five, and you'll tell us which tunnel to take… right?" Branch asked cautiously, ensuring that they would really be getting what they needed out of this childish deal. They were starting to run out of time and really should not be fooling around like this right now.

"So easy." The cloud whispered playfully, looking too confident over the fact that thanks to Poppy, he had just won. Branch was really getting irritated with this guy, but he knew giving in had just made the princess extremely happy and could not back down now. He growled in irritation before finally willing himself to hold his hand up in the air and swing it forward to slap Cloud Guy's hand. What he was not expecting was needing to catch himself from falling after only meeting air.

"Too slow!" He heard the Cloud Guy tease, at this point Branch was ready to grind his teeth as he listened to the cloud and Poppy snicker.

"Too slow?!" He asked in disbelief.

"Classic." He heard Poppy mumble beside him, he wanted to snap at her for that remark but restrained himself, and settled for giving this cloud character the scariest glare he could muster.

"Ah, ah, alright. I'm gonna let you slide with a fist bump." Cloud Guy changed gears and held his fist out toward Branch. Branch admittedly was more comfortable with this action, but eyed the cloud suspiciously again. He really did not want to, knowing it was highly likely that he would pull something funny again, but he knew the princess would be upset with him if he gave up already. So he found himself lifting his fist only, as he expected, did not meant the clouds fist.

"Whoop! Shark attack! Nom, nom, nom. Jellyfish!" Wait a minute, what the heck was this guy doing? He knew he'd probably pull another funny move but this guy was literally playing with his fist now. And he moved along from one thing to the next so fast, the grey troll barely had time to register what in the world was going on. Before he knew it his hand was trapped in a make shift cage between the clouds hands.

"Monkey in a zoo!"

"What?!" Branch was ready to yank his hand away at this point, fed up with this clouds games. Unfortunately it was as if Cloud Guy had sensed this and grabbed hold of Branch's fist before he could pull away.

"Gear shift!" Branch now trapped in having his arm yanked back and forth playfully, was at his wits end. But try and his may, he was not able to pull his fist out of Cloud Guy's grasp and reluctantly had to allow him to finish. Eventually, after another hard glare from the grey troll, he released his fist but not without howling in laughter. Poppy also burst out into laughter beside him and he sent her a harsh look, signaling to her that he was _not_ amused, and this was _not_ the time for fooling around. This effectively silenced the troll princess, and she stood stiff as a board beside him.

"Okay, okay, okay…" Cloud Guy interrupted the pair again, after he finally settled down.

"Now I'm thinking we hug." Something inside Branch finally snapped, that was the _last_ straw. No longer could he let this guy toy with him for the princess' sake. Branch gritted and bared his teeth, as he snapped a nearby piece of wood in half creating two sharp ends.

 ** _SNAP_**

 ** _THUNDER_**

 ** _RAIN_**

"Yaaahhhh!" Cloud Guy, finally realizing he had pushed too many of the grey trolls buttons took off running as he came after him.

"Branch!" The grey troll ignored the princess who frantically chased after him chasing Cloud Guy, she was not going to stop him this time, this guy had gone too far.

"That's right you better run cloud!" It was as if he had tunnel vision at this point, he was no longer aware of his surroundings, focusing solely on capturing this strange character who had pushed him too far. Both Branch and Poppy had been too consumed in their current cat vs mouse situation that they hadn't even noticed Cloud Guy leading them through one of the root tunnels, everything by that point was a complete blur until Branch had been brought back to his senses when the cloud stopped in front of him abruptly.

"Tada! We're here!" He cheered, making the very confused troll pair stop in their tracks as well. What did he just say?

"Whew you guys are a lot of fun…" Cloud Guy continued as if they hadn't just been on a wild goose chase moments ago. He snatched the sharpened stick away from the startled and disoriented Branch easily as he walked passed them making his way back toward the tunnel he just lead them through.

 _'_ _What in the world just…'_

"You know I gotta go, got some cloud stuff to take care of." Branch and Poppy looked at each other as if they were still trying to figure out what in the world just happened. The eyed him carefully, but no longer cautiously as he made his leave.

"Catch you on the way back? Unless… you die, die, die." Cloud guy then lowered himself back into the tunnel that had been dug into the tree, and the troll pair finally realized where he had led them. Could this've been his plan the entire time?

"The Troll Tree…" Poppy muttered as she turned around to get a better look at the place the Trolls once called home. Branch followed suit and did so as well noticing that without the life of the Trolls, the tree no longer held life either, seeing the tree in this state actually upset him a little bit. The Bergen's never were very knowledgable when if came to preserving life.

"Bergen Town…" He may not have shown it but he was terrified to be back here. Poppy had no idea what these predators of theirs could be like, she never experienced what horrors Trollstice had brought upon their race back then. She may have heard, and even told the stories, but held no memory of what that fear could feel like. Ignorance truly is bliss Branch supposed, after all he was the epitome of living in that fear for his entire life. Secretly though, right now he was thankful Poppy never experienced that fear, he would not want her to have to struggle with what he was struggling with right now.

As Branch tried to take control over his inner turmoil, Poppy made her way over to the edge of the lifeless tree to peer down and observe the people of Bergen Town. Branch, taking this as an opportunity to distract himself by coming up with a new plan followed and knelt down beside her. Other then the now lifeless tree, it seemed Bergen Town had not changed one bit, it was still just as miserable as he remembered.

"Wow, they're as miserable as you." The Troll Princess commented, not intending to mean any harm behind that statement. But her comment had ended up striking a cord with Branch that he had not known existed within him. He knew he could be quite the 'debbie downer' at times, most of the trolls never let him forget that, but was he really _this_ bad? Was this really how Poppy saw him? He looked at her a bit surprised as this new revelation started to stir something up within him. He didn't _want_ her to think of him this way, and found himself wanting to do anything he could to change that opinion she had about him, no matter what it took. Unfortunately, before Branch could say anything to defend himself Poppy started speaking again.

"Which means… they haven't eaten a troll yet!" She exclaimed as she bounced back up to her feet and urged him to follow her.

"Now come on, let's go save our friends!" Branch decided it was best to let her comment from earlier slide for now, she probably hadn't even realized what she was saying anyway. So he followed her.

"Your friends." He retorted as he began to scan the area for a safe way to get down the tree without being noticed.

"Our friends, don't fight it." Poppy argued.

* * *

Branch and Poppy were able to infiltrate Bergen Town castle successfully so far without being caught. Through the whole endeavor, Branch saw a whole new side to the princess he'd never witnessed before and found himself very impressed with Poppy's quick thinking. Unlike her defenseless she revealed while they were traveling in the forest, she'd proven herself to be very useful in ways he'd never imagine possible. He was actually ashamed to admit he never thought the princess would be able to take care of herself outside of the Troll Village, especially when she was no longer under her fathers watchful eye. He was incredibly wrong, and only found himself more attracted to the pink troll the more he learned about her.

While in one of the corridors of the castle, they heard guards suddenly starting to approach and quickly hid themselves within the confines of a candle sconce on the wall, Poppy camouflaged her hair to appear to be a burning flame in a smart effort to minimize their aura. Once they were able to confirm that the coast was clear, they simultaneously whipped their hair forward to latch onto a light that was hanging from the ceiling before swinging themselves across the corridor to land stealthily on the other side. Not a word needed to be spoken between them at this point, as if they were able to just move in synch with one another.

"So where do you think our friends are?" Poppy inquired, Branch had given up on correcting her whenever she referred to the Snack Pack as 'our friends' at this point, knowing she was not going to stop. He knew none of them considered him a friend, and could never figure out why this princess insisted that they did.

"If I had to guess, I'd say… in a bergens stomach." he said oh-so-optimistically. They both knew that was not the case since all the bergens still seemed miserable, and if he had honestly believed that to be true at all this entire time, he would have convinced Poppy to go home eons ago, instead of remaining by her side to protect her while they saved her friends. That was strange for him, some where along the way he had actually started to believe that they could save Poppy's friends and bring them back to the Troll Village safely, he doesn't know when it happened but it seemed that some of Poppy's hope began to reside within him too no matter how unlikely the circumstances may have looked. For twenty years without anyone but King Peppy knowing about it, Branch had done everything in his power to ensure every troll in the village remained safe and happy even when he couldn't be, this entire journey only served that purpose even more no matter how reluctant and pessimistic he was about it at first.

"Could you try to be positive? Just once? You might like it!" Branch could feel Poppy glaring at him as she complained about how pessimistic he could always be, rolling his eyes a bit he stopped searching the corridors for the kidnapped trolls to turn around and face the troll princess.

"Okay, I'm sure they're not only alive but about to be delivered to us on a silver platter." He replied sarcastically, giving her a large fake smile expecting her to chide him again. What he wasn't expecting, was for her to believe that what he had said was what he honestly believed.

"Thank you." She breathed as she placed a had on her chest acting like his statement had just brought her some relief.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Branch looked at her in disbelief, did she seriously not understand that he was being sarcastic? How could she…

 _PING!_ Before Branch could comment on her obliviousness, their attention had been directed to the bracelet on Poppy's wrist. He could hear himself groan inwardly from the moment it went off and hoped she was not about to distract their mission with a hug time right now. That was when the troll princess gasped.

"Branch!" She couldn't be seriously right now…

"Hug time? Serious…" Out of no where, Poppy's warm hand was suddenly pressed up against his lips silencing him, he couldn't distract himself from the sensual feeling of her warmth on his lips and barely registered her shushing him.

"Listen." He heard her whisper sharply and realized that she was trying to tell him something. Shoving the former thoughts clouding his mind away, he sharpened his ears to listen just as she had instructed him to do. He quickly picked up on the familiar hug time chimes ringing not far from their current location and realized she was using this advantage to help them locate her friends more quickly. Once again, Branch had found himself quite impressed with the princess' quick thinking, this would not have been something that he would have thought of had she not been with him.

Able to locate the Snack Pack quickly, the troll pair found themselves in a large dining room. Branch's heart dropped as he eyed their surroundings and witnessed the Bergen's in the castle setting up for what appeared to be the return of their dreaded holiday… _Trollstice._ He couldn't allow himself to dwell on this right now, afraid he might find himself retreating back to his former dark depression he suffered when he first turned grey. Right now he needed to formulate a plan to save Poppy's friends, if he could do that it would stop this whole holiday from returning again. The grey troll followed the princess as they dropped themselves into a chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling, and peered over the edge.

"Branch, look!" Poppy exclaimed as she pointed to her group of friends who were confined to a cage.

"They're alive?"

"And on a silver platter too! We were both right!" The happy princess pointed out, Branch had to refrain from chuckling at her comment, she still had not figured out that he was being sarcastic earlier and he was starting to find it quite hilarious. Thinking about it, that was a bit odd… it had been a _very_ long time since the grey troll had ever felt the urge to laugh, and even longer since he been able to laugh from his heart. And yet here he was now, trying to contain that feeling, had their lives not been in danger at the moment, he might have actually burst into laughter. He gazed at the pink troll out of the corner of his eye, their time together was really starting to have an effect on him and he was starting to really… enjoy it.

"How are we supposed to have Trollstice if there's not enough trolls?" Branch was suddenly pulled from his thoughts and brought back to reality. What in the world was the bergen king talking about. He didn't think they would be able to obtain more trolls, right?

"Oh well, there is plenty more where that came from sire." Branch and Poppy both gasped when they heard this come from Chef. They couldn't possibly be thinking about invading the Troll Village again… could they? Wait what if they already… no, no it wasn't possible. Branch's bunker was the safest place for the Troll Village to be hiding, there was no way the Bergen's would be able to find them no matter how long they searched, and there was no way they would be able to get them here before tomorrow.

 _'_ _Heck my bunker is so well hidden, almost no one in the Troll Village even knew where it was until Poppy invited them in.'_ Either way, they needed to focus now and get Poppy's friends out of here, that way they could be sure nothing like that could happen.

"Are you sure? Because I promised everyone a troll." The bergen king commented, not buying the chefs obvious bluff. For a moment Branch thought this Bergen would be caught at her own game, and hopefully get herself banished, or better yet killed. Unfortunately he did not foresee what she was willing to do to cover herself, how desperate she really was.

"Oh no, no, no sire. Everything will be fine. If I were truly worried…" The Chef placed her hands on King Gristle's shoulders and moved him aside so she could get closer to the cage that trapped Poppy's friends.

"Would I be willing to do… THIS!" Chef ripped opened the door to the cage, and roughly snagged the purple troll from inside. Everyone gasped in horror as the princess shouted.

"Creek!" Quickly realizing her mistake, Branch grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back down into the chandelier before they could be seen. Luckily, Poppy had realized she made a mistake as well and did not fight Branch, nor did she make another sound and simply remained silent while hurled next to Branch, silently hoping the Chef was not suspicious.

"Oooh! My first troll!" It seemed that Chef's attention was now back on the bergen king, and Poppy's outburst had long been forgotten, or so they hoped. Peeking back over the chandelier again, the troll pair watched helplessly as King Gristle sent them through a whirlwind of emotions while he battled with his desire to taste his first troll, and his his desire to share this 'special' moment with the rest of his kingdom. Branch was surprised to find himself battling these emotions alongside the troll princess over a troll he very much did not like. But if he was being honest with himself, he would've never been able to find it within himself to wish this fate on any troll, even if that troll was his worst enemy.

Eventually, the whirlwind of emotions did come to an unpleasant end as Chef got impatient with King Gristle's indecisiveness and shoved the purple troll, who had been stuffed into a taco, into the King's mouth for him.

"No!" This time Poppy's shout was downed out by the loud mariachi music that began to play as Chef ushered the bergen king out of the dining room.

"Idget! Lock these trolls in your room and guard them with your life!"

"Yes Chef."

"Branch! We have to save him!" Poppy cried as she tried to go after the two bergens who had just exited the room, completely forgetting that they were hiding in a chandelier, hanging high from the ceiling and were still in danger of being spotted. Branch literally thought he would have a heart attack in fear of witnessing her fall, so he quickly grabbed hold of her arm to pull her back toward him and stop that foolish action from going any further.

"Save him from what? His stomach?" This time, it was his turn to reason with Poppy, he didn't see how anyone could see the bright side to this situation, and there was absolutely no way anyone could make Creek come back from the bergens stomach safely, not even if they were to make him puke him up. She _had_ to agree with him this time.

"We didn't see him ch… We didn't see him swallow!" Poppy argued and Branch had to refrain from rolling his eyes, instead he was blunt with her, as he always was.

"Face it Poppy, sometimes people go into other peoples mouths and they don't come out! If we go after Creek now we're going to get eaten." Branch emphasized each and every word to her, desperate to make her understand. Poppy turned away from him and gazed helplessly at the door again seeming to process everything he was saying, and finally coming to the realization that he was right. But even though he knew he needed to break this to her, he still could not stand to see that helpless look on her face. He wished there was something he could have done for her in that moment, but knew there was nothing more that could be done. He was just as torn over the situation as she was.

"I'm sorry but it's too late for him." Branch spoke softly in an effort to comfort her in some way, no other words were spoken and soon they redirected their attention to the remainder of Poppy's friends who were be wheeled across the room by the scullery maid. Right now, there were other trolls still alive that needed their help desperately, since Poppy had finally seemed to give up on the idea of saving Creek, Branch began to think of a plan to save her other friends. Unfortunately before one could come together his thoughts were interrupted yet again, the troll princess had thrown herself out of the chandelier.

"Huh?! Poppy!" Branch cried feeling his heart just about leap out of his chest as he watched her surf down a ladder that had been placed below them. His fear was soon replaced with awe as he watched with wide eyes as she launched herself off the ladder and stick a perfect landing on a spoon that had been set at the long dining table. The momentum from her jump had allowed her to surf on the spoon, down the entire length of the table before she swung herself across the rest of the room, and stuck another landing perfectly on one of the apron loops tied on the back of the scullery maid. The troll princess' boldness had stirred up his own courage as he dropped himself from the chandelier, his fall creating enough momentum to bounce him off the hats of two guards, he then propelled himself from a piece of another guards uniform before landing safely beside Poppy on the other loop of the scullery maids apron. Poppy smiled at him with pride when he arrived, and he couldn't help but give her a small triumphant smile of his own in return.

Their appreciation of one another didn't last long as they remained on guard of their surroundings, ensuring they wouldn't be spotted while they waited patiently for the scullery maid to descend the stairs to her room. He continued to hide his true thoughts once more behind a poker face, but deep down he found himself once again even more attracted to the troll princess. Who knew this princess could be so strong? So bold? So brilliant? These feelings were only beginning to burn hotter as he spent more time with her, and he was afraid if things kept going like this he would soon find himself unable to hide his feelings from her anymore.

* * *

 ** _(AN: Finally I was able to finish it! Sorry it took so long and I hope you enjoy! As long as my computer cooperates I should be able to get the next chapter up quicker then I posted this one!)_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Branch's Perspective**

 _Description: The Original Trolls Story from Branch's Perspective as he battles with his feelings for Poppy and struggles with his lifelong depression over losing everyone he loved and held dear. A few extra scenes have been thrown in to help better understand everyone's favorite grumpy grey toll. A Broppy FanFic._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls or the plot, it belongs to Dreamworks Productions**

 _Constructive criticism is welcome flaming is not._

 ** _(AN: Hello again! I have another chapter for y'all! Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews from my last chapter I feel like I am gaining so many new readers with every chapter I post and it makes me incredibly happy! Thank you again and I hope you enjoy!)_**

* * *

Chapter Six

Once Bridget entered her room at the bottom of the stairs, the troll pair dismounted from their positions on the back of her apron and quickly sought shelter under the closest piece of furniture they could find. Once they were sure that they were carefully hidden, they poked their heads out cautiously to observe the scullery maid as she moved to place their friends who were locked inside the cage on a nearby counter top. Before an action could be taken though, Branch and Poppy were slightly shaken when they heard the Chef shout down to Bridget from above.

"Scullery maid!" She shouted before Bridget was suddenly buried under a mountain of pots and pans. Branch couldn't help but flinch slightly as he witnessed her get buried, that _had_ to hurt. Poppy took advantage of the situation though and quickly moved to hide themselves under another piece of furniture in the room, closing the distance between her and her friends, Branch followed her cautiously.

"Wash these pots and pans for Trollstice! The King is inviting everyone, except you." The female bergen suddenly burst into tears after she removed herself from the mountain of pots and pans and threw herself onto her bed. This reaction from her caused the troll princess to stop in her tracks, and look at the bergen with curiosity and worry. Branch wasn't really concerned with this bergens problems but he would be lying if he said her reactions at this moment did not perplex him. For the past twenty years in all of the research that he has ever done on the bergen race, everything he found proved that there was _no way_ bergens could have feelings. The bergens could never find their own happiness and ended up becoming _envious_ of the trolls. So much so that they shamelessly subjected the entire troll race to a horrendous tradition where they ended up as sacrifices so the bergens could feel happiness for _one_ measly day. In his opinion there was no way anyone who could feel anything at all, would ever have the capability to put someone else through something like that. But even though he knew that, _believed_ that he actually found himself looking at the scullery maid behind Poppy with worry as well, and did he actually feel… sorry for her? But why? These thoughts were foolish and Branch shook his head in an effort to shake the thoughts from his mind, he may not understand why she was crying but he knew one thing was for sure, there was no way this bergen was feeling anything.

"Aww, she's in love with the King!" Poppy suddenly exclaimed as they watched the scullery maid cry herself to sleep unnaturally quickly. Branch could not contain the look of disbelief that crossed his features as he looked at Poppy after she spoke. Seriously? That was the exact opposite of what he had been thinking, how could she possibly have come up with that ridiculous idea? Did she forget what they were coming here to do? How could a species who ate other species for their own guilty pleasures feel love?

"What are you talking about?! bergens don't have feelings!" Branch scoffed at her. Poppy turned around to glare at him.

"Well maybe you don't know everything about the bergens!" She challenged, but before he could say anything in response she silenced him with.

"Now let's go!" And started closing the distance between them and her friends again. Branch once again couldn't understand Poppy, why in the world was she trying to sympathize with someone they considered their enemy? He just couldn't grasp it, either way he decided that there was no use dwelling over it right now, all they needed to do was free her friends and escape without being noticed and this journey would finally be over. So, without another word Branch cautiously tailed Poppy while they made their way over to the cage. Once they arrived, Branch yanked the cloth that covered the cage, confusing the group of trolls hidden within. Some spotted him there and were slightly confused as to why he was there, and some were worried another bergen may have come for them, soon though they all realized the reason he was there.

"Guys!" Poppy exclaimed making all of her friends turn to her in relief.

"Poppy!" They all cheered before…

 _"_ _Celebrate good times come on!"_ Are they serious right now?! Branch looked frantically between Poppy, her friends and the scullery maid sleeping in her bed, restraining the urge to scream at all of them right now! He had hoped Poppy would silence them from their unnecessary chorus, but of course she didn't, and to his displeasure she actually joined in!

 _"_ _It's a celebration!"_ How could they not grasp the situation here?! They needed to be quiet if they wanted to escape!

"Shhh!" Branch interrupted, finally able to get a word in, they all stared blankly at the grey troll for a moment before…

 _"_ _There's a party going on right here…"_ Branch wanted to scream…

"NO!" He whispered as harshly as he could, before reaching into Poppy's hair to grab her scrap-booking scissors.

"There is not a party going on right here." Branch scolded them as he began to take actions into his own hands. He jammed the scrap-booking scissors into the pad lock, swiftly twisting them to unlock it and carefully remove if from the cage door. He failed to notice everyone's impressed looks as he did so.

"The sooner we get you guys out of here…" Branch continued, but was interrupted once again by the princess standing behind him.

"The sooner we can save Creek!" What? Had she not listened to anything he had explained to hear earlier?! There was absolutely no saving him now! How could she not understand that?!

"WHAT?!" Branch accidentally shouted, unable to control his shock from her statement. This outburst caused the scullery maid to stir, frightening everyone.

"Hello?" The maid shot up into a sitting position on her bed and even opened her eyes, the trolls all gasped and froze as they prepared themselves for a frantic escape.

"Is it me… you're looking for…" Bridget collapsed back onto her bed and drifted off again. The trolls heaved a sigh of relief before Branch resumed opening the cage door for the Snack Pack and quietly scolded the pink troll for her obnoxious declaration earlier.

"I know you're looking for the cupcakes and rainbows here but lets face it, Creek's been eaten!" Why couldn't she just let this go? He knew she cared about every troll in troll village but was such a slim chance really worth putting all of her other friends at risk? Whether he liked it or not he knew she had a crush on the purple troll but could there actually be something more between them? More then he cared to notice or realize?

"They put him in a taco!" Biggie commented with disgust and disbelief, as one by one her friends filed out of the cage Branch freed them from.

"It was horrible!" Cooper added with emphasis.

"Sorry Poppy… Creek's gone." Guy Diamond stated in an attempt to console the troll princess while resting a hand on hers. It was a strange thing to hear and witness, Branch was not used to all of Poppy's friends agreeing with him for once. They always seemed to back up her plans and ideas regardless of how ridiculous they seemed, though this situation to him was blatantly obvious, he half expected them to go along with her crazy ideas.

"Poppy… how could you possible think Creek is still alive?" Branch asked in an attempt to reason with her, as well as try to understand her. He just could not figure out how her brain worked. In his eyes, as well as the Snack Pack's, there was no other possible solution in this situation, they clearly saw Creek enter King Gristle's mouth, in the five short years he had lived through the annual Trollstice feasts, no troll had ever returned. They should really stop putting themselves at risk here and get themselves back to the troll village. The longer they stay here, the higher the risk is of them being caught, not to mention the higher the chances might be that Chef will locate the other trolls of the village. Even if Chef were to be banished again, she spent twenty years searching for them the last time, she surely would not give up this time either. They needed to leave this castle and relocate, just as King Peppy had done twenty years ago.

"I don't _think_ he's alive, I _hope_ he's alive and that's enough." Poppy argued as she turned around to glare at Branch. The grey troll found himself starting to get angry with her. _Seriously?_ She was willing to put everyone's lives at stake based on hope?! How much more ridiculous can you get?!

"How do you always look on the bright side?! There is no bright side here! _None!"_ Branch snapped at her before coming to a slight realization. It seemed he didn't understand Poppy, just as much as she didn't understand him, their views and perspectives on everything were complete polar opposites and unless someone was willing to open their eyes, they would never come to understand each other.

"There's always a bright side." She argued back, unfortunately before anything more could be said a bright light blinded their vision.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Branch, as well as the rest of the group could feel their hearts drop into their stomachs as they realized they had been caught.

"AHHH!" Everyone screamed before they scrambled in all different directions in a desperate attempt to escape. Guy Diamond was the only one to charge toward the Bergen, he sprayed the bergen with glitter blinding her momentarily in an effort to buy everyone time. Branch had to admit, just as he had been impressed with Poppy's quick thinking when they infiltrated the castle, Guy Diamond had impressed him now as well. He never expected him to put himself in harm's way in an effort to buy everyone else more time. He had a feeling most of Poppy's friends were about to show sides of themselves he would never expected to see from them before.

"No! Get back in your cage!" Bridget cried as she wiped the glitter from her face and scrambled to capture the trolls who had now spread across every corner of her room.

"Chef's gonna be so mad!" She cried again as if her pleas would make the trolls get back into their cage. Biggie then yelped as he attempted to escape from underneath the bergen, darted across the room with Fuzzbert and Smidge.

"NO!" The scullery maid cried as she chased after them, but was quickly stopped short when the grey troll blocked her path armed with a fork in an effort to protect Poppy's friends and buy them more time to escape. This was the side of himself no one else ever saw, the effort he would put in to ensure everyone's safety, the sacrifices he was willing to make just to make sure Poppy would always continue smiling. He knew he was no match for the bergen, especially when she armed herself with a frying pan that would undoubtedly knock him unconscious with one swing, but as long as that meant he could buy Poppy's friends enough time to escape, then that would be more than enough for him. Fortunately for him, before that could happen Poppy's loud voice rang throughout the room.

"Bridget STOP!" Surprisingly the female bergen actually stopped to turn around and face the troll princess. Branch had no idea what this pink troll was up to but remained cautious. While the bergen was distracted Branch immediately began to make his way over to where Poppy was.

"You're in love with King Gristle!" Poppy accused making the bergen gasp at her declaration. Attempting to feign innocence she tried to hide her face behind the frying pan she had previously armed herself with.

"Uhmm… I don't know what you're talking about." Bridget commented as she avoided Poppy's gaze. Branch couldn't help but wonder what Poppy was trying to get at here. He still did not believe the bergens had feelings, but even if she did what was she trying to accomplish? As if to prove her point not only to Bridget but to Branch as well, Poppy turned around to grab the pink curtains that hung behind the scullery maids bed and spread them open to reveal the collage of magazine cutouts hung on the wall. Embarrassed that her secret had been revealed, she dropped her frying pan and jumped on her bed to frantically close the curtains again.

"Uh excuse me!" Once the collage was hidden again, she turned to face Poppy and tried to act like nothing had just happened. These reactions perplexed Branch again, her reactions certainly seemed as if she really were in love with the King… and if that were true, it was a one sided love that could never come to be… the King would never notice a scullery maid…

"That's not mine!" She tried to claim, but everyone knew that was a lie, the bergen couldn't even meet the troll princess' eyes. Poppy pulled the curtain back again to reveal a photo that had both hers and King Gristle photos taped onto it. Branch smirked a bit as he continued to make his way closer to her, he still may not completely understand where Poppy was going with this, but he did know that Poppy had Bridget right where she wanted her. As the conversation between the two continued, the scullery maid seemed to pose less and less of a threat, but the grey troll was never one to let his guard down and wanted to make sure that he could protect Poppy in case any sudden movements were maid by the bergen, unfortunately getting to Poppy's location was proving to take longer then he had hoped.

"What does it matter… its not like he knows I'm alive." The dejected bergen commented, no longer attempting to hide her secret. Branch was a bit surprised, but not because Bridget had given in to the troll princess. He was surprised by his own feelings once again, he actually felt like he could sympathize with this bergen? But… why?

"Bridget… I can help you!" Poppy exclaimed. Help her? Help her with what? And how? What in the world is she thinking right now? Weren't they supposed to be trying to escape? Why would she waste her time helping the very people they were trying to run away from?

"What if there was a way, we could both get what we want?" This comment caused the bergen to lurch forward toward Poppy. The sudden movement caused Branch's heart to lurch in his chest, assuming the bergen was coming after her. He hadn't gotten close enough to her yet since he had gotten distracted several times along the way while the two were conversing. He needed to hurry; he couldn't let this bergen take Poppy!

"You love Gristle too?" Wait… what?

"You'd better back off… girlfriend." Bridget then hissed shyly at the troll princess and Branch found himself suppressing a laugh. Even he knew there was no way that could be possible. Okay, so maybe this Bergen wasn't very dangerous after all, if she had wanted to eat them she had plenty of chances to do so by now and since Poppy had grabbed her attention, she hadn't made any moves to try and capture them again. He finally approached the ledge Poppy was on and pulled himself up onto it before walking up behind her, while girls conversed with one another Branch tried to piece a puzzle together in his mind. Bridget did not fit the description Branch had always used to describe the bergens she never once appeared very hostile to him either, not to mention he still could not explain why he felt sympathetic toward her.

"No… Bridget no…" Poppy denied before reaching into her hair to pull out a photo of Creek, Branch's heart sank a little bit and he began to realize what Poppy's goal was, but this time he could not feel the anger he felt toward her when she suggested saving Creek again just a few moments ago.

"That troll, King Gristle put in his mouth? That's Creek… and I'd do anything to save him…" As Poppy began to explain things to Bridget, Branch was battling some inner turmoil once again. He could not believe she was still hung up on Creek. There really _must_ be something going on between the two for her to feel so strongly about him still possibly being alive. No one would stake this much just based on hope…

So it really was more than just a simple crush huh…He would be lying if he said he never noticed the attraction Creek showed toward Poppy as well. Branch's heart felt heavy again… he knew he shouldn't feel this way… No matter how much Branch may have disliked Creek, he was certainly better for Poppy then he was. There was no way someone as bright and as cheerful as her would ever want to be with someone as gloomy and negative as him, she was someone he could never have… he knew that. He glanced at the pink troll longingly as she continued to convince Bridget to go along with her plans. He really should just bury these feelings he harbored for the princess, he had been able to do a good job at hiding them for all these years, but their adventure over the past two days has really started to stir them up again, and not only that but make them stronger. He couldn't allow this to go on much longer, it would be better for everyone if he could just forget about those feelings… He would help Poppy and her friends make it back to the Troll Village safely as he had promised, before he'd make sure they would go their separate ways again, back to the way things used to be.

"What do you say Bridget… you get us Creek… and we'll get you a date with the King." Well he might as well go along with this plan as well, there was no way he'd ever convince Poppy otherwise at this point, not that he even could prior to this, but there was no way he was going to help them make her over he'd just be tagging along for the ride to ensure Poppy remained safe. Bridget gently placed her hand on the wall collage of photos above her bed.

"Lets do it?" She agreed, Branch rolled his eyes at the whole idea, still not believing anything good would come out of this.

 _"_ _A five, six, seven, eight!"_ Poppy started singing while the rest of the Snack Pack gathered together to start Bridget's make over. Branch just leaned himself up against the wall, not interested.

 _"_ _When you look in the mirror, let it disappear all your insecurities!"_

"WAIT!" Bridget yelled, halting any further progress on her make over. Then pointed right at the uninterested grey troll.

"Why isn't this one singing?" She asked curiously, Branch was a bit surprised she had even noticed his presence, and turned around to face everyone who was now attempting to encourage him to sing.

"Come on Branch! Sing with us!" Cooper started.

"Yeah Branch sing with us!" Biggie followed before the rest of the Snack Pack joined in as well.

"Sing with us!"

"Oh no that's okay." No matter how much they begged or pleaded with him, there was no way _that_ was ever going to happen.

"You don't think this will work?" Bridget asked him, her eyes filled with uncertainty and worry. Well no honestly… he didn't but he knew now was not the time to be blunt about how he was feeling.

"Oh no, no, no, its not that." He tried to reassure her.

"I just don't sing." Please… please don't pry any further then that, he did not want to bring this up right now, nor did her want to be forced into something that was completely uncomfortable for him, especially not for some… bergen.

"Branch!" Poppy snapped at him.

"No he's right." Bridget stopped her, before she began to cry.

"This idea is stupid. King Gristle will never love me!" The bergen cried before throwing herself onto her bed and crying hysterically. Branch felt bad for her, finally understanding why he was able to sympathize with her. Bridget, just like him, was in love with someone she believed she could never have. But regardless of that similarity the two shared, there was no way he could sing… he just couldn't do it. The reasoning behind his refusal to sing was stronger than the sympathy he felt for Bridget. No amount of tears, guilt or persuasion would ever convince him to sing again. Not when there was a possibility that someone could once again be hurt because of him.

"Psshh." Branch huffed as he turned away from Bridget and the Snack Pack attempting to console her, he was of no use here, he knew that so he might as well just leave. He could ensure everyone got back safely from the shadows, there was no need for them to know he was here any longer; obviously his presence now was just a burden.

"Branch! What are you doing? You have to sing!" Poppy demanded as she followed him while he climbed up the curtains behind Bridget's bed.

"I told you, I don't sing." He retorted.

 _'_ _Don't do this Poppy…'_ He began to plead with her in his mind.

"Well you have to!" She pushed.

"I'm sorry I can't."

 _'_ _Just leave me alone Poppy…'_ He had made it to the windowsill now and bolted toward the window to unlock it, unfortunately the troll Princess was not far behind him.

"No you can, you just won't."

"Fine I just won't."

 _'_ _Stop it Poppy please… Don't push it any further…'_ His mind pleaded with her as he got the window unlocked, but for some reason he just could not find it within himself to push the window open as Poppy continued to argue with him.

"You have to!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!" Why? Why couldn't he push the window open? It was right here and so easy to do, if he did he could leave and easily escape this conversation now before it came out… but… he seriously doubted that Poppy would let this one go even if he did escape. One way or another she would track him down to pry this out of him again.

"Why NOT! Why won't you sing?!"

 ** _"_** ** _Because singing killed my grandma! Okay!"_** And there it was…silence fell over the entire room as Branch finally said it out loud… his secret now out in the open for everyone to know. He could _feel_ the looks of shock and pity surrounding him, all directed at him as he made this confession, and it was making him very uncomfortable.

"Now leave me alone…" He pleaded, giving up on escaping from Poppy now, he did walk away from her though, secretly hoping she would listen to him for once and actually leave him alone. But deep down he knew that she wouldn't allow that to happen… she never did… she never gave up on him. He sat down and averted his eyes away from everyone as Poppy approached him again, just as he expected. Why? Why couldn't she just leave him alone? Everyone else did… ever since they were kids she'd always go looking for him, always include him and always try to get him involved in every party she held or adventure she ever went on. Why wouldn't she treat him the way the rest of the Troll Village did and just act like he didn't exist? Why was she always… so kind when all he ever did was insult her and push her away… why… did she care about him so much?

"How did… singing kill your grandma?" Poppy asked, concerned. Branch still refused to look at her but wondered… was she… trying to understand him?

"What song was she singing?" Okay, that question was a bit ridiculous, but he could understand her confusion. Finally, he lifted his head to look at her.

"I was the one singing." He admitted and watched as the shock registered on her features. He remained silent for another moment before he allowed the memories to flood back into his mind, and began explaining that tragic day to the pink troll who sat in front of him, the day he had been to careless… too carefree. How his grandmother had selflessly sacrificed her life, so he could live, and how he no longer had anyone left. He didn't know it was possible, but he explained everything to her in full detail, from start to finish. Certain parts got to be too much and he thought tears might start to escape so he turned away from her again, facing the window. Poppy may have been able to spark happiness within him again while they were on this adventure, but one thing was for sure, the pain he held in his heart after loosing his grandmother that day would never fully go away, and because of that pain he believed he would never be able to truly be happy ever again.

"I haven't sung a note since." He finished. Well, there it was… Poppy, and all her friends knew everything now. Did she understand him? Did she understand the reason he turned grey? The reason he lived in fear and dedicated his life to protecting the Troll Village from the bergens all these years? Did he explain everything clearly enough?

"I'm so sorry Branch… I had no idea…" Poppy apologized, her apology actually made his heart sting, he wasn't entirely sure why. But it was welcomed, this had not been his intention, and honestly he did not want all of her friends along with some strange Bergen to find out everything about him. Had it been just her, maybe he wouldn't have felt so uncomfortable… but, he had to admit it also began to feel like a weight had finally been lifted off of his shoulders, and strangely… he heart began to fill with relief. Before now, Branch could _never_ open up to anyone about his painful past no matter how hard anyone pried. Once again though, here was Poppy pulling something out of him he never thought he could ever share… this pink troll really had a hold on him, it was clear to see no matter how hard he may have tried to deny it.

"I just assumed you have a terrible voice." Poppy tried to explain herself to him, well he couldn't blame her for that, he supposed logically that's what anyone would assume.

"No, no it was like an angels…" Branch responded to her before he turned back to face her once again, looking to her for reassurance wondering how she would respond to him or think of him now.

"At least… that's what grandma used to say." Their eyes met and Branch was slightly taken back by what he saw, her eyes were filled with warmth and… love? Not only that but they were accompanied with the most beautiful smile her had ever seen from her; he could feel his heart beginning to race. Poppy then approached him and wrapped her arms around him pulling him into a warm embrace. His heart felt like it wanted to burst out of his chest, but he didn't try to pull away.

"Woah, woah what are you doing?" Branch tried to complain, but Poppy only held him to her ever tighter.

"It's not hug time."

"I just thought you could use one." She replied simply before snuggling against him again. He couldn't find it within himself to hug her back, even though his heart screamed for him to do so, but he did allow her to hug him, and felt himself relax a little bit in her arms savoring the warmth her hug had to offer. He even found himself starting to smile a real smile, but that was stopped quickly once the rest of her friends trotted over and began to wrap the pair into their arms now creating a group hug. It irritated him a bit, but not for that usual reason, this time he was irritated because they had interrupted the tender moment he was able to have with the troll princess. He understood though, that they were only trying to show him their support as well and allowed them to hug him for a minute, he even allowed the scullery maid to join in, before he broke away from the group and snapped at them again with his usual brashness.

"Okay, okay I'll help!" he proclaimed, although he wasn't really sure what he could do. He gave the group a hard glare, attempting to put his wall back up. Unfortunately he didn't think his glare would serve the same purpose toward all them anymore as it once did.

"But I am still not singing!" He warned them and thankfully no one questioned it any further this time. Poppy redirected the groups' attention to the task at hand, and everyone followed her instructions. Branch was secretly grateful the attention was no longer focused on him.

"Okay people! Hair we go!"

* * *

 _ **(AN: Alright! I really loved writing this part! I hope you all enjoy it as well!)**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Branch's Perspective**

 _Description: The Original Trolls Story from Branch's Perspective as he battles with his feelings for Poppy and struggles with his lifelong depression over losing everyone he loved and held dear. A few extra scenes have been thrown in to help better understand everyone's favorite grumpy grey toll. A Broppy FanFic._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls or the plot, it belongs to Dreamworks Productions**

 _Constructive criticism is welcome flaming is not._

 ** _(AN: Whew! I've had a rough week, lots of sicknesses going around, and just finished digging ourselves from a blizzard that hit us on Tuesday and dumped several feet of snow... how is everyone else doing? I'm so glad I could sit down and write this today it was therapeutic! Haha, anyway there will be only two more chapters after this one, they may end up pretty long but worth it! After I finish I would love to answer any questions you guys have to feel free to ask away! Thank you everyone!)_**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Poppy and her friends were able to complete Bridget's transformation fairly quickly. Branch had agreed to help, but hadn't necessarily contributed anything yet. He made himself comfortable atop the scullery maid's head but did not include his hair with the others. He simply sat down close to the troll princess and couldn't help but glance at her from time to time while she danced. He was careful not to let her entrance him, he could gaze at her all day, but he didn't want to rise any suspicion while they were surrounded by her friends so he remained poker faced, and tried not to get annoyed while she sang and danced with the Snack Pack.

The group ventured out into Bergen Town, and Bridget was catching everyone's eye. Branch had to give her credit for overcoming her nerves by ignoring most of the stares she received and continued on with her search for King Gristle, he was never one to feel comfortable in the public eye and probably would have retreated back to the comforts of his own home by now had he been in her shoes. But… having just opened up about his past to everyone, he was starting to think that maybe… having friends and enjoying company even if it caused a judgmental eye, wasn't so bad after all.

"Oh he's so beautiful." He heard the bergen gush and realized that she had been able to locate the King's whereabouts fairly quickly. Branch glanced through the colorful troll hair and peered into the window only to cringe immediately the moment he saw the bergen king. His confidence wavered a bit as he looked upon King Gristle shopping for a _bib_ in preparation for this dreadful holiday he had hoped he would never have to experience ever again. Why… why couldn't they have run away and escaped when they had the chance?

"And so are you." Poppy complimented the scullery maid; unfortunately her compliment didn't seem to have the effect she hoped it would have.

"Ohh, he'll know I'm just a scullery maid!" Bridget worried, almost acting as if she were about to bolt back to the castle.

"No, no, no, no!" Poppy cried in an attempt to calm her down and prevent her from running.

"Ahh I gotta get outta here…" Bridget continued to worry as she looked in all directions in search of an escape.

"I'll be right here for you Bridget. We all will." The troll princess reassured the bergen. This statement seemed to calm Bridget down.

"You'll tell me what to say right?" The bergen questioned.

"Of course I will." Poppy reassured her again.

"Of course I will." Bridget repeated and Branch had to contain a chuckle as he listened to that exchange.

"Just wait until we get inside." Poppy commented before hiding herself back inside Bridget's 'wig' the Snack Pack had created. Branch glanced at Poppy as Bridget regained her composure once again. He might not ever be able to understand it, but Poppy's willingness to help anyone, even her enemies, always astonished him. For a princess, she was never selfish she always gave so much of herself to ensure _everyone's_ happiness, and it made her happy to do it. In a way he admired that about her, it was a trait of hers that reminded him so much of his beloved grandmother. His grandmother had always selflessly given so much of herself no only to him, but to so many other troll children in the days she was alive that many trolls of Troll Village still reminisced about her to this day. Of course his grandmother and Poppy were still two very different trolls or whom he loved in very different ways, but he still could not help but notice this similarity between the two. It was probably one of the very reasons Poppy was able to get through to him in ways no one else ever could.

The bell signaling entrance into the store chimed as Bridget cautiously entered Bibbly's, immediately King Gristle could be heard whining like a spoiled child, so much so that no one had even bothered to notice her presence right away. Branch could only roll his eyes in annoyance at the spoiled bergen king. Boy was he grateful Poppy never acted this way, she may be naïve to the bad things that can occur in the world, but she really was the most selfless, caring, loving princess he has ever come to know, and while an exchanged occurred between the two bergen's Branch could help but take a trip down memory lane.

* * *

 _-Flashback-_

 _Nine years… it's been nine years now since he turned grey, and nine years since… Grandma Rosiepuff passed away. He was fifteen now, his bunker now complete except for a few 'homey' touches he supposed but wasn't too eager to add them any time soon. His real problem now was… other trolls, he had gotten to that age where bullying was becoming a problem no matter where he went. Bullying was not considered 'troll-like', in fact it was very much frowned upon, but unfortunately it still happened, and it seemed most of the time he was the main target. Most of the kids don't remember anymore why he was grey and so depressed all the time, and if they did remember they chose not to mention it. To them, he was different, to the other troll kids he wasn't 'normal' and because of that, he was picked on._

 _He was used to it by now; words could never be as painful as the loss he suffered nine years ago so he could live with it. But… some kids were starting to get physical, and he knew it was time he drew a line somewhere before it escalated any further. Unfortunately he wasn't sure how…_

 _His ears suddenly twitched and he picked up on faint snickering not too far behind him. He sighed closing his eyes, why couldn't they just leave him alone. Not wanting them to find the location of his bunker, he made a sharp left turn and began gathering some localized herbs in the area. Soon he could hear something whizzing by him and dodged it easy, casting a glance to where the object had landed he could see that it was a stone. Restraining the urge to snap at them, he continued his work ignoring the bunch, they attempted several more times to strike him with more stones, but he was quick to dodge and they missed him each time._

 _"_ _Oi! Grumpy!" Finally one of them called out to him, rolling his eyes he still continued to ignore him._

 _"_ _Hey! Don't ignore us!" The troll barked, suddenly Branch found himself forcefully shoved to the ground, all the plants that he had just gathered scattered everywhere. Branch laid there for a moment deciding whether of not he should stand up to this group of bullies who had now targeted him, but remembered that his words always fell on deaf ears even when he wasn't being bullied. He pushed himself up from the ground stood once more, he didn't even glance at the group who pushed him down before he turned his back toward them and continued gather the herbs once again._

 _"_ _What's wrong Grumpy? Cat got your tongue?" One of the trolls teased behind him._

 _'_ _Just keep ignoring them Branch, they'll leave eventually.' The grey troll reminded himself._

 _"_ _Yeah aren't you going to tell us to run away? That we'll be attacked by a bergen if we hang around here?" Another troll mocked him in a monotone voice._

 _'_ _Bergens aren't the only thing you should be afraid of out here.' Branch responded in his mind as he continued to increase the distance between him and them._

 _"_ _HEY!" The same troll who told him not to ignore them earlier shouted, his voice was menacing, terrifying, it made the grey troll freeze in his tracks. It actually seemed like this troll_ _ **wanted**_ _to inflict harm upon him, something he had never encountered before. He had never done anything so horrible to any troll that he would deserve that type of behavior from someone, so why…_

 _"_ _I said don't ignore us!" He barked again, and this time because Branch was so frozen and disoriented with fear, he did not notice another stone coming toward him, much larger then any of the others that had been thrown at him before. That large stone struck Branch right in his temple and the pain from the strike caused him to crumble to the ground again, his hand flew up to grasp the affected area and immediately noticed that blood had been drawn. Branch then felt the presence of the other trolls much closer then they had been before, but before he could react one of the trolls kicked him hard in the stomach, Branch felt the air rush out of his lungs and he coughed as he tumbled into a fetal position._

 _"_ _Better get up_ _ **Grumpy**_ _… or we'll…"_

 _"_ _Get away from him!" Branch heard someone scream, unfortunately he was in so much pain he could register where the voice was coming from. Whoever it was, their voice caused every troll hovering over him to freeze in shock and fear, Branch soon understood why when a familiar pink color suddenly flodded his vision. Branch felt his heart begin to race as the princess stood in front of him to protect him._

 _"_ _What do you think you are doing?!" She demanded, the grey troll glanced up at the pink trolls face, his heart literally stopped beating. A look of anger he had never seen on her before was plastered on her features; the hard glare she was shooting at the group of bullies was sending shivers down his own spine. Why was she so angry for someone like him? Her voice then dropped down an octave as she spoke in warning to the group who attacked him._

 _"_ _What you've done is unacceptable in my Troll Village and you better believe my father will be hearing about the actions you have taken against Branch." These words caused the group to step back, the troll who had struck Branch with the stone attempted to speak up._

 _"_ _W-we didn't…"_

 _"_ _There is nothing you can say that will change my mind. Leave here NOW!" She shouted, silencing him instantly. They all turned around to leave and once the troll princess was sure they had disappeared from their sight she dropped to her knees in front of him, her anger now replaced with intense worry._

 _"_ _Branch are you alright?" She spoke softly, her hand reached out to gently touch the wound on his temple, he flinched in pain the moment he felt her touch and Poppy quickly retracted her hand._

 _"_ _I'm so sorry Branch…" She whispered, as she reached an arm around his shoulders to try and help him sit up. He allowed her to do so, his mind still reeling at the actions she had just taken to protect him. Why would she do something like this? She never left him alone sure, and always tried to include him in everything, but he never imagined she would go this far for him. He just couldn't figure her out, he was always so mean to her, so harsh, if someone had treated him the way he treated her he didn't think he'd ever be able to stand up for him or her the way she just did for him. Once he was sitting up, he finally found the will to speak._

 _"_ _Why… did you do that for me?" He asked, unable to look at her directly. She didn't answer right away, when he peered over at her it seemed as if she were shocked._

 _"_ _No one likes me. You… you could end up disliked, or worse hurt for what you just did… You should just… let me be…" He answered truthfully. She shouldn't get involved with him; she shouldn't try to get close to him. He couldn't give her anything she wanted or deserved and the only thing getting close to him would offer her was pain._

 _"_ _I can't do that!" She shouted making him jump a bit. She said it with such determination he could no longer find the words to speak, he could only watch her with shock._

 _"_ _I don't care what others say._ _ **I**_ _like you Branch and no one deserves to be treated that way!" Branch felt the air leave his lungs again, but this time it was for a completely different reason. This young princess was only ten years old, still just a child, and yet her she was speaking to him with more maturity and determination then he'd even seen in some adults. Not only that, but she was willing to fight… for him._

 _"_ _Branch I don't know why you lost your colors but…" She looked away from him seemingly embarrassed; her cheeks even flushed a deeper shade of pink causing his own cheeks to flush slightly with embarrassment._

 _"_ _And I won't force you to tell me… but… I hope…" she was silent for a moment. It appeared she was trying to figure out if she should say what she was about to say, it didn't take long for her to come to a decision and she soon turned to face him again with a bright smile._

 _"_ _I hope one day you will be able to tell me… that you be able to… confide in me." Branch's eyes widened in surprise, he could feel his heart in his throat beating rapidly and couldn't find anything he wanted to say. No one… no one ever said anything like that to him, no one ever cared. But Poppy…._

 _"_ _Until then I promise to protect you!" She declared and Branch could no longer look at her. He was too embarrassed, his heart felt as if it were about to burst out of his chest. He… he was in love with her…_

 _"_ _Come on." Poppy was standing now, holding a hand out to him to help him up._

 _"_ _Let's get you cleaned up." Normally he'd wouldn't take her hand… normally he was say something harsh, tell her he'd be fine on his own and head back to his bunker without another word but right now… he couldn't find it within himself to do that… he knew he should but he couldn't push her away. Without meeting her gaze he accepted her offered hand and allowed her to help him up. Smiling the entire way, she did not let go of his hand until they arrived at her Pod which was dead center in the middle of the village. She invited him inside to she could tend to his injuries and or the first time ever, Branch paid no mind to all the stares they received from the rest of the trolls._

 _-End of Flashback-_

* * *

"And who might you be?" The bergen king asked as Branch came back from his trip down memory lane, it appears the female bergen had worked up the courage to speak to him. She had began to falter when the king had asked for her name, Poppy and the rest of the Snack Pack were also unsure of what to say.

"You're name is um.. uhhh…." Poppy had turned around to look to him for help, but he could only return a surprised look. It was difficult to come up with something like that on the spot.

"Lady." Biggie started which didn't seem too bad.

"Glitter?" Guy Diamond added.

"Sparkles!" Smidge added confidently, what the heck kind of name was that? King Gristle was never going to buy that!

"Seriously?!"

"My name is Lady Glitter Sparkles…seriously." Bridget you weren't supposed to repeat that! At this rate they were going to be found out!

"Well, my Lady Glitter Sparkles…" What the heck he bought that?!

"Haha! Would you care to join me an evening at Captain Starfunkles roller rink and arcade?" Was this really happening right now? Poppy's plan was actually working! This bergen just scored a date with the King!

"Would I!" Bridget responded initially with confidence, but hesitated a moment later.

"Would I?" She questioned Poppy.

"Yes you'd be delighted." Poppy reassured her.

"Yes you'd be delighted." Bridget repeated, Branch rolled his eyes at this response but paid no mind to it understanding that this was just how Bridget was, it seemed the King didn't mind at least and although he gave a curious glance now and then he seemed to go along with Bridget's act.

"Oh… indeed I would." Well the date was settled, but Branch couldn't help but feel slightly impatient, he didn't really understand completely Poppy's entire plan and where she planned to go from here. And if he was being honest he didn't really want to be an attendee to this date Bridget was about to embark on. He had confirmed with himself that he sympathized with Bridget because she was in love with someone she thought she could never have just as he did, but now that she had scored the date and he was still the same as he ever was, he was having mixed feelings.

"When are you going to ask him about Creek?" The grey troll practically spat the purple trolls name as he faced the troll princess who stood right beside him.

"Well we have to warm him up first. Don't you know anything about romance?" Poppy asked him almost mockingly, almost as if she knew he wouldn't know anything about it. What she didn't realize is deep down, there was more to the grey troll then what meets the eye but he wasn't ready to show that side of him to her yet.

"Of course! I'm passionate about it." Branch replied sarcastically.

"Really?" Poppy responded honestly in disbelief, had she seriously not been able to pick up on when he was being sarcastic yet? Plus he a bit offended that she really didn't think he could be romantic.

"Don't you know anything about sarcasm?" Branch deadpanned.

"I think I had a sarcasm once." Cooper chimed in with an unwanted comment; obviously not understanding what sarcasm was either. So maybe Branch had never been on a date in his entire life and he really could not consider himself an expert in romance, but there was a little something that Poppy did not know about him... something no one knew, was the way he felt about Poppy, and how he expressed those feeling through words in private. Over the years his feelings for her would sometimes become overwhelming, especially on the days she really expressed and _showed_ him and everyone else that she really cared about him. He needed a way to express these overwhelming emotions without Poppy ever knowing about them so he began writing his feelings down. It was incredibly therapeutic even if it did sadden him at times that he would never be able to express these feelings out loud, but also he truly believed he was actually a great poet and songwriter, he never would have learned that about himself if it wasn't for her.

As Branch's thoughts wandered to the book of poetry and songs he always kept close to him at all times, he found himself absentmindedly touching his hair almost as if he needed to reassure himself that something that held great importance to him was still safely tucked away. Once he became aware of its presence, he once again found himself wishing he could admit his love for the troll princess one day, the tug in his heart once again making itself known. But this time, he didn't find himself getting depressed that he would never be able to admit those feelings to her one day, this confused him a bit because he always felt he could never be the troll she needed him to be, if it were possible that he could actually become that troll, Creek was still in the picture, well at least Poppy believed so anyway, so even if he could become that troll one day he would never win against Creek… so why did he feel hopeful that he could? Shaking his head to rid of those thoughts for now he noticed King Gristle and Bridget had already arrived at their date destination and were enjoying their meal.

"Bridget!" He suddenly heard the troll princess still sitting beside him chide the scullery maid.

"Compliment him back!" She urged.

"I like your back." Branch face palmed… Seriously? Did Bridget or any of the bergens for that matter know anything about romance? He was starting to grow worried that this wasn't going to end well for her and them.

"No! I meant… say… something nice about him." Poppy was beginning to fumble, unsure of how to make Bridget understand properly.

"But I do like his back." Bridget answered innocently. Okay… that response confirmed Branch's suspicions… As far as romance goes, Branch was pretty sure he knew more about it than any of the bergens.

"Eh?" King Gristle responded confused, giving her a curious look.

"Um, uh…"

"Poppy! Help her…" Branch urged, King Gristle was starting to think something was up, if they didn't do anything soon this would be all over.

"Uh… your eyes… uh…" Poppy gagged a bit as she tried to look at King Gristle and attempt to pull a compliment out that she could feed to Bridget. Unfortunately this task proved to be a bit harder than any of them had anticipated.

"Ooh your… ears?..." Poppy was at a loss, it was obvious that she was unable to compliment someone she didn't personally find attractive. She was honest and Branch loved that about her, but that honesty was about to get them into serious trouble here.

"Your eyes uh.. ears uh…" Bridget started repeating after Poppy.

"Nose!" Biggie was the first of the Snack Pack to try and lend a helping hand.

"Skin." Chimed in Satin and Chenille.

"Neck." Copper included.

"Skin, neck, ears, nose, face uh your head…" Bridget was starting to loose track of everything being said and couldn't keep up.

"Are you okay?" This entire scene was starting to look ridiculous and the King had finally started to notice.

"Your teeeeettthh." Why was Guy Diamond singing right now? Branch covered his eyes with his hand and sighed, if someone didn't do something quick it was all over.

"Teeeeettthh."

"W-What's going on?! Are you making fun of me?!" King Gristle was ready to leave, clearly offended by the scullery maid indecisiveness and very confused by the entire situation at the moment.

"Your eyes!" Bridget shouted and paused for a moment when she realized that Branch was the one helping her. Clearly it was not a move she expected from him, and honestly Branch was surprised he was doing this right now himself, especially for someone of a race he considered an enemy for his entire life. But at this point someone needed to do something before they were found out by now he knew Bridget was not intending to hurt anyone, everyone knew they could trust her, and it was simple for him to picture Poppy in this moment and recite one of the many poems he had written and memorized.

"They're like… two pools, so deep… I fear if I dive in…"

"I might never come up for air."

"I might never come up for air." Bridget was repeating his words confidently now, good it seemed he was able to smooth this situation over. At this point he was also well aware that everyone's attention was now directed at him, he knew everyone was probably incredibly surprised by him right now, he was acting in a way that was typically unusual for him but at this point there was no turning back now. So, brushing off the feeling of being watched he allowed his feelings for the troll princess to overflow and began to get lost in his own poetry as he continued.

"And your smile… the sun itself turns jealous and refuses to come out from behind the clouds…"

"Knowing it cannot shine half as bright…" King Gristle, seeming to have calmed down now, sat back down in his seat and smiled at the scullery maid.

"I kind of do have a nice smile… don't I?" Upon hearing this question Branch turned to face the troll that these words were truly meant for.

"Yes… you do…" A smile, sweeter then he had ever seen before formed on her lips as he watched her and Branch felt his heart pound in his chest. He was _not_ expecting her to react that way toward him…

 _'_ _Oh snap…'_ Did he just… Did she realize that those words he spoke were actually meant for her? What did he just do? What _should_ he do now? Shyly he tore his gaze away from Poppy who was gazing back at him so lovingly. It was another look he never expected to receive from the princess; there was no way she could possibly…

Branch halted those thoughts from developing. Poppy likes Creek… Branch reluctantly reminded himself, and while he still had doubt tat Creek was still alive at this point, he knew he was not the troll who could ever take that purple trolls place in Poppy's heart. Whatever the outcome may be, Branch had vowed to stay by Poppy's side right up to the end whether it was good or bad, he vowed to be there for her and make sure that beautiful smile never left her features ever again, even if it would never be meant for him.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this…" Bridget began without any prompting from any of the trolls.

"Guys she's going rouge!" Biggie worried.

"But… being here with you today… makes me realize that… true happiness is possible." Bridget 'swords did not only surprise and move the troll princess… they had stirred something deep within the grey troll as well. It seemed those words were the exact words he needed to hear to realize that hope and happiness was always bubbling deep, deep down inside him. Poppy had began to bring that hope to the surface once again on their journey, and Bridget's words had finally, truly made it known. If these bergens… a race that was known for living in misery, could find happiness without eating a troll… then maybe… just maybe Branch would be able to find happiness again as well. Maybe it really _was_ okay for him to be happy… glancing at the troll princess his heart began to race again, she'd been saying this to him for twenty years, that everyone deserves to be happy, even a troll eating race like the bergens, it wasn't until this moment that Branch finally started to really believe those words as well.

"It is! True happiness is a lot closer than you think." King Gristle mentioned as he scooted to sit closer to the scullery maid.

"It's right here." He whispered suggestively as he leaned in close to Bridget and rested his hands on the gem holding his cloak around his shoulders. Branch was beginning to grow suspicious upon realizing the bergen King was not speaking of the happiness they were thinking out. What was he talking about?

"Ohmm that's… pretty I guess…" Bridget relented, obviously not interested in the King's gem he was now holding out to her. He seemed to pick up on her uneasiness and continued.

"What do you think now?" He added as he opened the locket to reveal…

"Creek?!" Branch shouted in disbelief.

"I knew he was alive!" Poppy breathed. Branch was now in complete shock, he was no longer paying any attention to the events occurring on Bridget's date. He was so sure that he hadn't been wrong about this one, from what they witnessed they were no possible way the purple troll could have lived and yet… here Creek was, being held hostage within the bergen King's locket this entire time. He just couldn't wrap his head around it and had no idea what possibly could have happened for the situation to turn out this way. At this point now, whatever hope he had at being able to maybe one day have a chance with Poppy were now completely crushed…

Branch was finally pulled from his thoughts when he felt himself, along with all the other trolls bring lifted into the air and away from their positions on the scullery maids head, completely exposing them for anyone to see. He quickly realized that Bridget and King Gristle had moved out onto the roller rink and a fancy spin had been the cause of this situation, he scrambled for anything to grab onto to while the rest of the Snack Pack held on tightly behind him and found himself reaching out to grasp the pink trolls hand who had been able to grab hold of the scullery maids hair. Branch and Poppy held on tightly to each other while Poppy tried to think quickly of a way to rescue everyone. Bridget had been able to buy the group some time by sending the bergen king into a fancy spin of his own before he was able to look behind him and notice something was wrong.

Acting quick, the troll princess yanked on Branch's arm hard and was somehow able to pull everyone back safely onto Bridget's head again, although it wasn't very graceful. While the rest of her friends landed behind Poppy, Branch found himself landing right in the troll princess' arms, the grey troll was unable to contain the pleased smirk that formed on his lips upon realizing this. The pleasant moment didn't last long unfortunately as everyone quickly got back into his or her places once again. By the time King Gristle turned around to face Bridget again, it was as if nothing had even happened. After that incident the two bergens continued to dance with one another and truly started to enjoy the time they were sharing together, that is until a bone chilling voice could be heard echoing through the restaurant.

"Your Majesty." Everyone literally froze, including Bridget as Chef rolled over to the bergen pair in her own pair of roller skates.

"You seem to be having… fun." Chef mentioned seeming a bit bewildered and confused. Unfazed by Chef's presence King Gristle responded.

"Oh I am! Meet… the lovely Lady Glitter Sparkles." Gristle introduced Bridget, and Chef eyed her very carefully seeming to pick up on something that didn't seem quite right.

"Hm… you remind me of someone…" While the rest of the trolls began to shake with fear upon hearing this comment, Branch stood his ground among the group, preparing to act in case the worst was about to happen.

"She's uh, gonna be my plus one." King Gristle chimed in confidently, breaking the awkward silence and relieving the slightest bit of tension.

"Oh I see." Chef acknowledged the King, before redirecting her suspicious gaze on the scullery maid once again.

"For a moment I was concerned you were… changing the plan." Branch could tell Bridget was beginning to loose her resolve, King Gristle had been able to ease the Chef's suspicions slightly, but Branch could tell that the Chef was still aware that something wasn't quite right about the female bergen standing beside King Gristle.

"Well this won't be a problem at all your Highness. I'll just get my worthless scullery maid to get another place setting for the lovely lady… Glitter Sparkles." That confirmed it, she was onto them, and they needed to get out of here… fast. While the bergen king grabbed Chef's attention once again Branch whispered harshly to the scullery maid.

"Bridget run!" Without a second thought, Bridget immediately acted on the command and raced out of the roller rink before King Gristle could even finish his sentence.

* * *

Bridget was able to make it back to her room in the castle safely and unnoticed. Rolling in on her one remaining roller blade, she soared around her room feeling like she was on cloud nine. She then pounced onto her bed excitedly, scattering the trolls who had been resting on her head, around her on her bed.

"Hah!" The scullery maid signed dreamily.

"I think the king really likes us!" Cooper exclaimed as he turned to face Biggie who was lying beside him.

"I know right!" The large blue troll responded.

"That was the greatest day of my life!" Bridget proclaimed like a giddy schoolgirl in love, before rolling over onto her stomach to face the troll princess. Branch could help but smile at the scullery maid as well, he'd actually felt happy for her, his uneasy feelings from before now gone.

"Thanks Poppy!" Bridget acknowledged her, and the pink troll simply smiled at the happy scullery maid while nodding her head.

"Thanks to all of you!" She gestured to the rest of the Snack Pack before facing the grey troll who was sitting on the end.

"Even you I guess." She added less enthusiastically, Branch face fell with that comment. Hey, did she seriously forget who it was that pulled her out of that sticky situation when no one could figure out how to compliment the bergen king _and_ who it was that told her to flee when Chef was bearing down on them! Branch glared at her but before he could retort the scullery maid had redirected her attention again.

"I just never thought that something like that could ever happen to me and it just did! I'm so excited I could just scream!" The giddy bergen continued before quietly exclaiming.

"Ahhh!" Oh well, Branch decided to let her comment from earlier slide, there was no way he could dampen the great mood Bridget was in now.

"Oh! I could scream too!" An ecstatic Poppy chimed in as she bounced to her feet. Branch glanced at her and smiled warmly, feeling truly happy that everything she had hoped for was coming true. Wait… happy… for Poppy?

"Creek is alive! Yay!" Poppy and her friends began to cheer, and even Branch hoped onto his feet to join in.

"Aaaahhhh!" Suddenly, he noticed he could no longer hear everyone else cheering anymore and stopped to find everyone starring at him. Great… what had he done now?

"Branch what's wrong?" Poppy asked him, voice tinged with worry.

"Nothing, I thought we were celebrating." The grey troll answered honestly.

"That's your happy shout?" Cooper asked in disbelief and Branch was finally able to realize what had caused everyone to stop. Way to bring a guy down guys…

"It's been a while." Branch deadpanned. Thankfully though, his spirits were lifted again as Poppy approached him stating.

"Well you're gonna have plenty of practice, cause we're gonna save Creek and life will be all cupcakes and rainbows again!" It was strange, here was the troll he loved more than anyone else, getting excited over Creek… the one troll who could infuriate him like no other… his only _rival_ and yet… he wasn't annoyed he wasn't even jealous. Actually he had found himself smiling at her, seeing Poppy smile happily and act worry free again after watching her silently battle her anxieties and nerves over her friends the past two days was exactly what he had been wishing for this entire time. Her never wanted to see her upset, scared, sad or worried, her smile was perfect and she deserved to be smiling happily from her heart all the time.

"Up top!" He teased and the princess actually fell for it just as he anticipated that she would. Right as she brought her hand up to meet his, he quickly pulled his away.

"Too slow." Poppy looked back at him with shock, but the shock was quickly replaced with the same beautiful smile she wore when he had recited his poetry for Bridget and he could easily read that she was happy for him. He could not help but return her smile as well, probably revealing to her the first warm smile he had ever let loose in a long time. Something within him had changed when he opened up to her before they got Bridget ready for her date with the King. Happiness was beginning to make itself known within his heart again and the grey troll realized the source of his happiness… was Poppy's happiness… even if that meant she wasn't meant to be with him. He was able to come to the conclusion that even though he might never be able to reveal these feelings he felt for her, it would be okay as long as she was happy. As long as he could somehow always contribute to that happiness even if it was just as a friend, it would be enough for him as long as he could always see her smile. The tug in Branch's heart that he always felt toward Poppy when he thought this way began to make itself known again, but he was growing used to needing to ignore it, he knew now that as long as Poppy was happy, he could be happy and he could never ask for anything more.

"Okay everybody! Let's go save Creek!" The troll princess exclaimed, and the rest of the trolls were quick to follow her lead. But just as they were about to approach the door to exit the room…

"Ah! No!" SLAM! Bridget had inserted herself between them and the door, blocking their exit. What was she up to?

"You can't leave! Lady Glitter Sparkles is gonna be that King's plus one at dinner!" Bridget frantically explained, Branch cocked an eyebrow at her reasoning.

"The dinner where they're serving troll? Yeah… I think we're gonna have to skip that one." Branch responded before starting to make his way toward the door again.

"No! No, you have to help me be Lady Glitter Sparkles!" Bridget pleaded with him as she landed on her stomach in front of them to get down to their level.

"I need you!" She begged, Branch couldn't find the words to say, luckily Poppy did.

"You don't want to pretend to be someone you're not forever." The princess standing beside him stated, attempting to reason with the scullery maid, unfortunately what they were trying to convey just wasn't getting through to her.

"Then… how about just for tomorrow?" The young bergen pleaded again.

"Bridget, you don't need us anymore. You and the king can make each other happy." Poppy pleaded back as well, and Branch could tell she was starting to worry that the scullery maid wasn't going to let them go.

"That's impossible!" Bridget spat, seemingly offended as stood back up again.

"Only eating a troll can make you happy! Everyone knows that!" The scullery maid cried as she ran back across her room and threw herself against the collage she had pinned to the wall above her bed, she then slid down to her knees and tore the photos while proclaiming.

"I wish I'd never gone on this _stupid date!"_ Well this was quite the mood swing that Branch was witnessing. Had this bergen learned nothing? Did she not remember herself stating that true happiness was possible _without_ eating a troll? This was useless; there was nothing more they could do for the scullery maid if she herself refused to open her eyes as well as her heart. Branch knew that better than anyone, but Poppy on the other hand...

"Bridget…" Poppy called to her softly, attempting to console her.

"Just go! Get out of my room! Leave me alone!" Bridget cried and turned away no longer able to face the troll princess.

"Please listen!" Poppy pleaded, but Branch began to back away and tried to think of a way to get Poppy to go with him as well, the rest of the Snack Pack had already gathered behind them.

"BRIDGET!" came that bone chilling voice once again. That was their cure.

"We've gotta go." Branch urged as he backed away from the scullery maids room along with the rest of Poppy's friends.

"Bridg…"

"Come on." He knew better than anyone else, Poppy was having a hard time leaving the scullery maid alone like this, he knew every fiber of her being was aching to help her out in some way no matter how much Bridget tried to push her away. But with the threat of the Chef having now returned to the castle they had no other choice, right now they needed to leave.

"What's going on down there! Bridget! Scrub that dish!" A dish struck the hysterical scullery maid on the head.

"The King's bringing a plus one!"

"Yes Chef." Poppy lingered a bit longer, but upon realizing that there was nothing she could do for her new friend right now she too, although very reluctantly, retreated from Bridget's room to catch up with the rest of her friends.

* * *

 _ **(AN: As I mentioned earlier I only have two more chapters left for this story! Once it is finished I would love to answer any questions y'all might have! Just leave them in the reviews! Thank you for being so patient with me everyone!)**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Branch's Perspective**

 _Description: The Original Trolls Story from Branch's Perspective as he battles with his feelings for Poppy and struggles with his lifelong depression over losing everyone he loved and held dear. A few extra scenes have been thrown in to help better understand everyone's favorite grumpy grey toll. A Broppy FanFic._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls or the plot, it belongs to Dreamworks Productions**

 _Constructive criticism is welcome flaming is not._

 _ **(AN: Hey everyone! Thank you once again for all of your fantastic reviews! Can you believe I only have one chapter left? It makes me kinda sad anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter! The True Colors wasn't only my favorite scene in the movie that actually made me shed a tear, but it was also my favorite scene to write about as well! Enjoy!)**_

* * *

Chapter Eight

Branch had led the Snack Pack through the corridors of the castle in search of King Gristle's room, once he had spotted Poppy heading toward them he directed her friends to hide in the shadows nearby while he headed back toward the princess. As he got closer to her he could clearly see that she was torn, she was struggling with the decision she had just made and it was written all over her face.

"You alright?" The grey troll asked, concerned as he approached her and turned back around to fall in step beside her.

"Yeah…" She started, but did not sound convinced herself.

"Yeah… let's just… go save Creek." Branch could see clearly that the pink troll was lying. She never could lie very well to begin with, he knew that all to well, but he decided not to address it right now as they regrouped with the rest of her friends. He found himself wishing that there was something he could do for Poppy right now… Branch knew, better than anyone else in the room that having to leave Bridget alone to cry like that was the last thing she wanted to do. He knew she wanted to give Bridget happiness and do everything in her power to see her smile again. The fact that she couldn't do that for her right now was gnawing away at her, and while the others may have bought it, Branch could see through the mask she attempted to wear. Unfortunately, much like Poppy, he just couldn't figure out what he could do for her in this moment to see her smile again.

The group soon located the doors that lead to the King's room after Branch and Poppy joined them again. Quietly they listened through the door while Biggie kept watch so they wouldn't get caught by one of the guards. Once they were sure everything was safe and the right moment had arrived, the trolls carefully opened the door to King Gristle's room and stacked atop of one another to examine the room. Branch eyed the king who was on his treadmill, but noticed he had headphones on and knew he wouldn't be able realize they were there.

"There it is!" Poppy exclaimed, the grey troll glanced around the room carefully one more time, assuming the coast was clear, and the trolls jumped back onto the ground before infiltrating the King's room. Quietly Poppy, Branch and the Snack Pack scuffled over to the bed and climbed up to the top of it before quickly burying themselves under the blankets to crawl to the other side of the bed with the locket and the king's cloak rested. Branch emerged from underneath the covers first and dashed over to the locket to attempt to remove it.

"Creek, we'll have you outta there in a second." Poppy reassured the purple troll she assumed was still inside.

"Hurry!" Biggie worried behind them.

"It's stuck!" Branch grumbled, not yet realizing the danger that lurked behind him, the one thing in the room he had happened to overlook. Poppy and Branch both froze the moment the heard growling from behind him and turned around to see the king's pet, Barnabas, hovering over them.

"RUN!" Poppy shouted, she reached for the locket with Branch and they were able to quickly removed it from the bergen king's cloak, she and Branch dashed off in one direction, as if it were completely natural for the pair to stay by each others, while the rest of the Snack Pack ran in the other direction. A chase between Barnabas and the Trolls commenced in King Gristle's room, while he remained oblivious to it the entire time, even when an explosion occurred.

"Hey guys! Over here!" Copper shouted, grabbing Biggie's, DJ Suki's, Smidge's, Guy Diamond's, Fuzzbert's, Branch's and Poppy's attention when they got cornered once again by the King's pet. They quickly made their way over to Bridget's other roller skate as Cooper urged them to pile in.

"Everyone get in!" Branch and Poppy climbed into the skate just in time before they were launched off of the bed.

"Let's go! Let's do this!"

"Everybody hold on!" Branch called and he and Poppy held on tightly to the locket Creek was still trapped inside of. Fuzzbert's quick feet kept them moving down the corridor.

"Hold it steady guys!" called Biggie as they continued to make their escape down the corridors of the castle. As their speed picked up the troll princess naturally took charge.

"Satin! Chenille! Sharp right!" Branch once again found himself impressed with Poppy's quick thinking during high-pressure situations. He could barely comprehend all the thoughts running through his mind at the moment and was grateful he still had her by his side. Satin and Chenille wasted no time in following their friends instructions, Satin launched herself off the skate to grab hold of a wall sconce while Chenille held on tight with the rest of the group in the skate, flawlessly making a sharp right turn. Satin was quickly able to return to the rest of the group thanks to the twins attached hair.

"Guy Diamond! Glitter him!" Poppy's friend who chose to never wear clothing, also wasted no time and swiftly followed the princess' instructions, grabbing hold of one of the laces Guy Diamond jumped out of the skate and landed his behind on one of the fast moving wheels.

"Eat glitterrrr!" This move successfully blinded the king's pet for a moment and Branch found himself impressed with Poppy's friends as well, they seemed to be more capable then he initially thought them to be. Unfortunately their success in evading Barnabas was short lived as they found themselves quickly approaching a roadblock they were unable to avoid.

"Hold on!" Poppy shouted as they were launched up the 'wet floor' sign and into the air.

"Ahhh!" Everyone screamed. The jolt caused the grey troll and the troll princess to loose their grip on the locket, and while the group continued to soar through the air and out one of the windows of the castle, the locket tumbled through the air behind them only to lodge itself deep in Barnabas' throat.

"Creek!" Poppy cried as she reached for him, fortunately luck seemed to be on their side as Barnabas, unable to stop, ran himself into the ledge of the window hard, causing the locket to dislodge from his throat and back into the air in their direction. Once the troll princess took notice of this, without warning she launched herself off of the skate and toward the locket now soaring through the air again before anyone could stop her. Branch could feel his heart just about burst from his chest in panic as he watched her grab hold of the locket and instinctively call out to him.

"Branch!" he needed no further instruction, he instinctively knew what she called him out for and without hesitation the pair simultaneously stretched out their hair toward one another, not fully realizing the ultimate trust they had just gained from one another. As their hair wrapped around each other, both could feel a shiver run down their spines but due to the situation they were currently in the both shoved those feelings away as Branch pulled her back toward them to safely land back inside the skate again with the rest of the group.

"We've got you!" Biggie called as he helped Branch grab a steady hold on the troll princess and the locket. Branch barely had anytime to think about the meaning between him and Poppy locking their hair with one another. Sure, this had really been a life or death situation in the moment, but that action between trolls meant the pair shred mutual trust with one another as well as an intimate bond. Normally such an action would only be performed between two lovers, it was an action that broke all barriers and rendered both trolls completely defenseless even if it was for a short moment. For Branch to even render himself defenseless for a second meant a lot more than anyone would ever realize. Regardless of the circumstances they may have been under at the time, there were several other trolls accompanying them right now and Poppy had instinctively called him out to rescue her. Unfortunately before he could really dwell on what any of that could possibly mean, they found themselves crashing through another window of the castle, and because they had gained so much momentum they crashed through several floors of the castle as well.

Finally the momentum died down and they land ungracefully in an unknown corridor, they had lost their grip on the locket again as it flew out of the skate and into the air. Without missing a beat, Branch and Poppy caught the locket together, stopping it for escaping their grasp again.

"Gotcha." The troll pair gently set the locket on the ground, as the rest of the Snack Pack gathered behind them, everyone wearing confident looks on their faces. But when the troll princess opened the locket…

"Huh?"

"No… he can't be gone…" Poppy whispered in disbelief. Branch watched her with worry, resisting the urge to rest a comforting hand on hers as she battled with the harsh realization that everything they had just done had been for nothing.

"I'm sorry Poppy… we're too late…" But before Poppy could respond to the grey troll standing beside her, that terrifying voice rang through their ears once again.

"Actually…" Everyone's heads shot up to see the Chef approaching them with a smug and confident look on her face, hovering a familiar cage above their heads.

"Your timing is perfect!" She shouted as she slammed that dreadful cage over the group of trolls.

* * *

Biggie began to openly panic as Chef carried the group now trapped within their cage again back into the kitchen.

"Oh.. oh no, no not again, not again!" Everyone gazed at him with pity an worry, but made no move to console him, unsure of how to handle the current situation themselves as well as trying to calm their own nerves. Branch's mind was currently digging deep to find any possible way to get them out of this, struggling not to let his mind fall into the depths of despair, and for once try to find a positive solution without immediately assuming there was no way out. But right now… no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't finding anything. It couldn't end here…

"Sorry but I can't have you leaving before tomorrow's dinner." Chef replied knowingly, she had them right where she wanted them, as if she'd known this was their plan all along. How was she able to locate and capture them so quickly? They had been so close to finally escaping! But when they had come to the realization that Creek was no longer encased in the locket… wait…

"A dinner to which you are all invited. And when I say all… I mean every troll in troll village." Branch's thoughts were halted abruptly with this declaration from chef. How could she possibly…

"You'll never find them!" Once again before Branch could process a thought clearly and try to piece together what Chef was implying, Poppy had interrupted his thoughts as she boldly stepped toward Chef, and argued with her. Branch reached toward her, itching to pull her back closer to him wanting to keep her safe from harm but held back.

"Not where they're hiding!"

"Oh you're right I couldn't find them." Chef played along, but continued to act as if she still had the upper hand. She knew something they didn't… just what was going on here? Branch's confidence in his hidden bunker began to falter, had he gone wrong somewhere? Had he missed something?

"But… I could with someone they know… someone they trust…" Both Branch and Poppy eyed Chef for a moment, trying to read where she was going with this, she lifted her hand to unzip her fanny pack and Branch took a guarded stance.

"Someone… like this guy." Chef spat as she lifted the purple troll out from her pouch. Setting the troll on his feet before them, the gears began to turn in Branch's mind.

"Creek you're alive!" Everyone began to fawn over Creek as he revealed himself, but Branch remained indifferent. Something wasn't adding up here, why in the world was he with the Chef? She hadn't needed to trap him at all, as if he had no desire to escape her grasp. Then, he took a good look at the purple trolls face and the puzzle finally came together, the reason he wasn't eaten by King Gristle… the reason he was no longer in the king's locket when they tried to rescue him… the reason Chef was quickly able to find them with they finally thought they had rescued this guy… he was working in cohorts with this bergen who intended to serve them for dinner! Without him Chef never would have been able to calculate their every move!

"He's selling us out!" Branch accused as he whipped his hair forward to wrap around the throat of the troll he was never fond of from the start. He never should have trusted this guy! They never should have tried to save him!

"Branch! Wait!" Poppy pleaded as the grey troll strangled the troll she thought she had a crush on, but Branch refused to listen. How could she possibly think anything good was going to come out of this, this time?

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation!" Poppy grabbed Branch's shoulder and pulled him back, attempting to calm him down and reason with him. Reluctantly, the grey troll released Creek at the princess' request.

"Please give him a chance." No matter what Poppy said, there was nothing that could contain the anger that Branch felt toward this troll right now. This troll had tormented him for years, he never liked this guy, but right now, none of that mattered. Branch was furious because this troll… this troll that Poppy loved was threatening everyone in her kingdom's life! He was threatening her life! There was no reasonable explanation for this! Branch would never forgive him for this!

"Thank you Poppy…"Creek breathed and paused for a moment before confirming…

"I'm selling you out." But this time before Branch could strangle the guy again, someone else beat him to the punch. Wait a minute… was… was Poppy the one strangling Creek right now? Were his eyes deceiving him? Branch stood wide eyed in shock and amazement as he looked between the troll princess and Creek for a moment, completely ignoring her friends behind them who were trying to stop her, then looked back at Creek again with a smug, triumphant look on his face. And although the moment was short, he relished in it, feeling nothing but pride for the pink troll who stood beside him, it seemed that just as Poppy's hope and excitement throughout this entire journey had begun to rub off of him, some of Branch's defensive actions had also begun to rub off on Poppy as well. Unfortunately, the remainder of the Snack Pack had finally pulled Poppy away from Creek much too soon.

"You better explain yourself Creek." Poppy spat out Creek's name as if it had been poison on her lips, as she attempted to contain her anger while shaking herself against the bars of the cage. Branch had never heard her speak to him that way before, actually she had never spoken of any troll in that manner before; he had never seen Poppy so angry in his entire life. His own anger only continued to boil as both him and Poppy glared at the purple troll. Creek began his explanation, but as he continued his strong dislike toward Creek only served to burn hotter than ever. He understood that Creek had been in a compromising position back when King Gristle was about to eat him, but there was definitely another solution he could have used that didn't involve risking the lives of every other troll in troll village!

Did Creek even like Poppy? Was he in love with her at all? This did not seem like something someone would do to the person they loved… When Branch set off on this journey to protect Poppy, he had been willing to throw his life away, had it come to that, just to make sure Poppy had been able to return home safe. Had Branch been in Creek position, he would have gladly sacrificed his life the moment he knew it could save everyone else's. Princess Poppy loved everyone in the Troll Village, if anything had happened to anyone her heart would have been crushed, Branch would have done anything in his power to protect her heart so she could continue to live happily, heck that is exactly what Branch had been doing the past twenty years! He'd dedicated his life to protecting Poppy and everything that she loved, and yet what was Creek doing? He was about to wipe out her entire kingdom! All so he could save himself!

"No… Creek…" Poppy pleaded, her resolve was fading, and Branch could practically hear Poppy's heart being crushed.

"Please don't do this." She begged. Branch felt his heart being crushed along with Poppy's, he couldn't bear to listen to her like this.

"Believe me… I wish there was some other… me not getting eaten way." Creek responded attempting to look remorseful, but Branch did not believe him for a second, he could see clearly through the purples trolls act and knew he did not regret his decision at all. The sound of Chef sharpening the blade of her butcher's knife could be heard in the background, causing everyone behind the troll pair to tremble with fear once again.

"But there isn't." She added confidently.

"And now I have to live with this for the rest of my life." Creek continued as he got as close to the troll princess as he could.

"At least you get to die with a clear conscience." What in the world was this guy saying! He was starting to make the grey trolls skin crawl, had he not seen anyone here as his friend? As people he loved? How could he say such cruel things?!

"So… in a way… you could say… I'm doing this for you." Creek finished as he reached forward to cup the trolls princess' cheek in his hand.

 _ **'Don't touch her!'** _ Branch's mind screamed, he wanted nothing more than to lunge at this creep and rip his hand away from her in that moment, but he knew nothing good would come out of it. Every muscle in Branch's body tensed as he grit his teeth and held himself back, one day, if he somehow ever got the chance again, he would hit this guy where it hurts most, he swore on it.

Creek then slid his hand up to reach into the pink trolls hair and pull her cowbell out that she had always carried with her. He had everything planned out right down to this? Branch knew Creek had no idea where his bunker was, he was the last troll he would ever let find out, but somehow he had figured out that Poppy had hidden everyone there and knew her cowbell would lure them all out of hiding, thinking Poppy had returned home safely. Unable to look at the traitor any longer his eyes landed on Poppy, he could do nothing but watch as Poppy's world began to crumble right before her eyes, this traitor had ripped out Poppy's heart and stomped all over it. Branch found himself wishing that Creek had been eaten King Gristle back then… a fate he normally would never have wished even on his worst enemy… but he couldn't bare to watch this happen to the one he loved so deeply. Creek was making her suffer a fate she never deserved.

* * *

The remainder of that night was a blur, not only for Branch but everyone who was trapped within that cage. Everyone was silent, including Poppy. No one could find the words to speak; no one knew what to say to find comfort in this situation… There was a tiny sliver of hope buried way down deep, hoping that Creek and Chef wouldn't bring back the rest of the Troll Village… that the rest of the Trolls wouldn't fall for their trap, but it was another one of those situations where that possibility was highly unlikely. This time though, Branch refused to voice that reality. For the first time during this entire journey, no for the first time in twenty years, Branch refused to believe that this horrendous ending was the only ending possible in this situation. He had been skeptical at the beginning of this journey, first believed Poppy's friends had been eaten, he had been proven wrong, he never believed a bergen would ever want to help a troll, that they'd only seek desire to eat trolls for their own selfish desires… he had been proven wrong, and he never thought for even a moment that Creek would still be alive… and yet unfortunately he was. Each time Poppy had looked on the bright side and truly believed something good could come out of every situation, so where could he find the bright side here?

While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, without realizing how quickly the night had passed, the morning sun soon began to pour into the deserted kitchen. Everyone jumped at the door to the kitchen slammed open, tremors of fear coursed through their bodies as Chef approached them with a smug look on her face.

"Good morning!" Her voice sang sickeningly. The trolls refused to look at her, to acknowledge her, the reaction only caused the bergen to humph under her breath before roughly grabbing the cage she had trapped them inside. Soon after they found themselves being dumped into a large pot before Chef commented.

"Don't you worry, the rest of your friends will be joining you soon." She smirked confidently. Branch and Poppy could only glare at her in response.

"Too bad for you, we found them." She then slammed the lid on the pot and four loud clicks echoed through the pot as she locked them inside. Once again everyone was silent, the grey troll could literally feel his heart drop into his stomach, what in the world could they do now?

Soon enough, as much as everyone hoped it wasn't true, the lid to the pot was opened once again. Several bergens hovered over the pot as they unzipped their pouches and dumped the rest of the troll village into the pot with them. King Peppy had been one of the last trolls to fall in as Chef's sinister laugh echoed through the pot before the lid was closed and locked once again. King Peppy and landed right in front of Branch and the rest of the Snack Pack. Biggie had reached down to help the king of the trolls of his feet just as the king's eyes landed on his daughter standing with her back to him just a few inches away.

"Poppy?!" He called out to her before running over to her and enveloping his daughter in a tight, loving embrace the moment he got to his feet. An embrace in which… Poppy did not return, a first Branch had ever witnessed from her, especially from her father.

"Poppy… oh thank goodness you're alright." King Peppy heaved a sigh of relief and he held his daughter close to him, relieved that she hadn't yet been eaten or harmed by a bergen. Unfortunately it didn't seem like Poppy was as happy to see him as she broke away from his embrace.

"I'm great…" The troll princess began as she continued to back away from her father and gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She then turned away from him, the shame for the guilt she felt becoming too much for her to bear. Poppy… was blaming herself completely for everything that had happened until now…

"I got everybody I love thrown in a pot thanks for asking…" Poppy's voice broke as she spoke, tears threatened to fall as her shoulders slumped and he head hung low. Branch had noticed her sarcasm first, his eyes widening in surprise as he felt his heart once again being crushed under a tremendous weight, all because the troll he loved more than anyone else was hurting more than anyone could ever comprehend and he didn't know how to fix it. What… was happening to his princess?

"Poppy…" Biggie called as the realization began to dawn on him as well.

"Are you being… sarcastic?" He asked cautiously, almost as if he was hoping he was wrong. The troll princess whirled around to face her father and her friends again, throwing her hands out to her sides and spoke in an exasperated tone.

"Yes!" Everyone surrounding them gasped in shock, except Branch who was trying trying to figure out what exactly was going through Poppy's mind right now. He almost didn't want to believe that Poppy had been unable to see a bright side to this situation and was now blaming herself for everything. It was completely unlike her and he had no idea what he could do for her. It seemed as if… more of Branch's personality had rubbed off on Poppy than he had ever wanted… He had been proud of her bold actions toward Creek earlier… but this… this was a piece of him he had hoped she would never have to suffer through.

"Oh my gah." Smudge remarked before Poppy dropped her hands to her side again to speak.

"I'm sorry… I don't know why I though I could save you…" Everyone fell silent once again as the weight of the troll princess' apology began to feel heavy on their hearts.

"All I wanted to do was keep everyone safe… like you did Dad… but I couldn't." Poppy clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut as her voice broke again. The tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she wore her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see. Branch could clearly see everyone's heart began to break along with hers.

"Poppy…" King Peppy whispered as he watched his daughter, but before he could say anything more Poppy turned away from him again, too ashamed and broken to face him. Just like everyone else around them, Branch could only watch her, unsure of what to do or say. Not once in all these years that he had known her… loved her… had he ever witnessed her act like this. She was always the most happiest, positive, selfless troll in the village. Everyone strived to be like her… what could one do when someone like that starts to end up like… like someone like him…

"I let everyone down." Poppy then fell to her knees, almost as if she finally giving up… finally giving in. Branch had to say something now, something had to be done, there was no way he could allow her to give up after coming this far, so he called out to her.

"But… Poppy…" Before he could say anything more through, Poppy interrupted him.

"You were right Branch…" She started as she turned toward the sound of his voice. Right? Right about what?

"The world isn't all cupcakes and rainbows…" Oh… that… he had completely forgotten he had said those words to her just yesterday, and now he was wishing he hadn't. Before he could say anything to comfort Poppy or retract that statement his heart suddenly felt like it had been pierced with a knife, his eyes widened in disbelief and he felt like he could no longer breath. Right before his eyes, the one troll he loved and cared about more than anyone else still living in this world… began to turn grey…

 _No_ … Branch's heart and mind cried. _No, no…. this wasn't happening…_

"Poppy." Not her… not… In an attempt to find hope that the wasn't true and that his eyes were just trying to play tricks on him, he looked around at the other trolls, only to find that without their bright and happy princess every troll, with their heads hung low, began to loose their colors. Branch began to back himself away from the center of the pot toward the wall as the realization came crushing down on him. This… this was not something he every wanted to happen to any of the trolls in troll village. Especially not Poppy.

 _'And I can't wait to see the look on you face when you realize the world isn't all cupcakes and rainbows.'_ His own cynical voice from yesterday began to ring through his head over and over again. He now regretted every word he had spoken to her back then, even though he had never truly meant it in the first place. Right now though… he knew Poppy had believed he meant those words back then, and those words… were probably hurting her more than Creek's betrayal right now. He was partially to blame for getting her to this point and he would never be able to forgive himself for that.

He couldn't let this happen… he couldn't continue to watch her suffer the way he had for the last twenty years. She had always been there to help him, never giving up on him after all this time, he couldn't give up on her now… But what could he do? He still hadn't figured out a way to bring his own colors back for twenty years, what could he possibly do for her right now that would bring her colors back?

 _'Sing.'_ A familiar voice called out to Branch as he continued to stare at Poppy's broken figure in search of an answer. His heart had suddenly jumped in his throat at the familiarity of the voice, every hair on his body stood up straight… there was no way it could possibly be…

 _'Sing to her Branch.'_ The voice got louder and he knew exactly who it was that was speaking to him. Grandma... he didn't know how or why, but he knew that voice could only belong to his grandma, if it really was her there was no way he could let her down. Every logical thought in his mind screamed at him not to, but his heart that continued to beat strong with the love of his grandmother and Poppy screamed louder… his heart knew… he knew…

 _'She needs you.'_ Branch closed his eyes as he sucked in a slow deep breath to calm his own terrified nerves, and worked up every ounce of courage he could find. He was ready to give Poppy everything he had to offer, even if she didn't love him. He was just beginning to experience what happiness truly felt like once again, that never would have been possible if is wasn't for her never giving up on him. The least he could do for her now to thank her for everything she had done for him until now was…

 _"You with the sad eyes…"_ The troll princess slowly opened her eyes upon hearing a singing voice she had never heard before. Every troll surrounding them did the same as well as they lifted their heads slightly and began to look around at each other, trying to pinpoint where the voice had come from. Biggie and Cooper had looked at one another as if they were both asking each other the same question, they had heard this voice before, a very long time ago. Could it be…

Their suspicions had been confirmed when the trolls who had been standing in front of the grey troll, hiding him from view stepped aside to look at him. Poppy saw this happen out of the corner of her eye and turned to look at him as well as he slowly began to approached her, a sad, apologetic smile playing on his lips.

 _"Don't be discouraged."_ He heart was once again racing in his chest, he was never comfortable being the center of attention, but he didn't back down, he had decided to give her everything he had to offer, he wouldn't allow a little embarrassment to bring him down this time.

 _'Please let this work… this had to work.'_ He found himself pleading in his mind. Unfortunately he did not receive a reaction he had hoped he would see from her. His heart once again felt as if it were being pierced the minute she turned away from him again. He sighed a bit, but continued to get closer to her. He knew it wasn't easy to just suddenly become happy again the moment you turn grey, he knew better than anyone else all the emotions she was battling with right now and it wasn't simple to forget everything that had caused these sad emotions even if what he was doing was truly amazing right now. Branch knelt down beside her and tried to capture a glance, when she still refused to look at him or acknowledge him, he gently reached out to place his hand under her chin and turn her to face him. Luckily she gave in easily and looked directly into his eyes. It took everything he had not to break down with her the moment she did, all he could see within those once beautifully pink orbs was guilt, hurt, and shame. He smiled back at her gently, he needed to be her strength right now, and he would do everything in his power to prove that he was here for her, that she could lean on him.

 _"Oh I realize… it's hard to take courage."_ Poppy looked away from him again, each movement away from him would cause his heart to sting in pain. In a way, he felt like he deserved it, he now understood how she had felt every time he pushed her away, but he mindset has changed now. No longer would he allow the sadness to overwhelm him and cause him to give up on everyone including himself, instead each time she pushed him away it only encouraged him to try harder. He leaned forward to bit to make sure he could continue to gaze into her eyes, even if she was no longer gazing back into his. The presence of the rest of the troll village seemed to fade and right now… it was as if it was only him and her… alone together. He was just a man, pouring his heart out for the woman he loved.

 _"In a world full of people, you can loose sight of it all…_  
 _The darkness inside you, can make you feel so small…"_

As Branch finished singing this verse, the formerly pink trolls hug time bracelet dinged. He looked at it for a moment before looking back at her and opening his arms out to her, giving her a hopeful smile this time… he was offering to her the first hug he had ever tried to initiate since his grandmother had died, hoping to prove to her that she had finally broken down all of his walls, that for her he was willing to try a be happy again alongside her, and that he was willing to do anything to see her smile again. He had always refused to show any sort of affection for twenty years, refused to sing, refused to dance. Right now he was throwing twenty years of stubbornness out the door for her, and she hoped she could see that right now. Unfortunately… it still wasn't going to be that simple, she looked at him for a moment, seeming to consider it, but her despair was still too much to bare. Branch could see that in her eyes as she looked at him, she closed her eyes sadly, and covered her hug time bracelet, causing his heart to feel like it was breaking once again.

Branch began to feel a bit guilty at this point, more hug time bracelets began to chime all around them. Being grey was probably the most difficult battle any of the trolls have ever had to deal with, no one was initiating a hug right now which is a sight he never thought he would ever see. He then looked back at Poppy, everyone else was sad because she was, because their hope no longer held hope of her own, the struggle she was battling was more overwhelming than anyone else's in the pot, including Branch. Not only did the troll she had a crush on betray her, he betrayed the entire troll village, proving himself to be a troll she never expected him to be. And because she had put so much trust in him, and blindly saw him as a great guy with no faults, she inadvertently put everyone in danger that could possibly cost them their lives, at least that is what she believed anyway. There was no way anyone in here truly blamed her for this situation, it was Creek's fault and Creak's fault alone, but it was almost impossible to get that through to her right now.

In way Branch could sympathize with how she was feeling. Hers of course was on a much larger scale, he never carried the weight of an entire kingdom on his shoulders as she did, but he did blame himself everyday for his grandmothers and his parents deaths. No one could ever convince him otherwise, even now he still somewhat believed he played a huge part in their deaths even if the real ones to blame were the bergens back then, but his opinion had slowly began to change now and he truly believed one day he would no longer blame himself anymore. If he could find himself here, then Poppy would be able to too. Working his courage back up again, and squashing those feelings of guilt, and reached forward again, this time to take the troll princess' hands into his own and help her stand on her feet alongside him.

 _"Show me your smile then, don't be unhappy."_ Branch held Poppy's hands in his even when she tried to pull them away the first time, almost as if he was pleading with her to smile again.

 _"Can't remember when…"_ The next time she tried to pull away he didn't stop her even if it continued to crush his heart. Even so he reached out toward her and continued… for her.

 _"I last saw you laughing._  
 _This world makes you crazy…"_

Deciding to pull another out of character move, he slid himself to his knees getting closer to her with another hopeful smile on his face and finally… there it was… her true smile had started to return.

 _"And you've taken all you can bear. Just call me up cause I will always be there."_ She was looking right at him now, the deep sadness hidden within the pools of her eyes was slowly starting to fade away as she began to allow him into her heart once more. This one small change had made his heart soar, and this time he would no longer shove those feelings down of hide them away, he would wear his heart, his love for her on his sleeve for the world to see.

 _"And I see you true colors shinning through."_ His voice grew louder as his courage began to grow stronger, and in that moment she had allowed him to be her strength. The moment she did, he looked down to see her beautiful pink coloring starting to return. She noticed his gesture to her feet and looked down as well before happiness overwhelmed both of them, she could no longer contain her bright smiles as she admired the way her true colors returned. Branch stood to his feet again as he admired her colors returning as well, no longer could he feel the deep sadness in his heart. He knew it was still there, and always would be, but right now just the thought of being able to do this for Poppy overwhelmed him with so much happiness, he could hardly feel the sadness there anymore. Other than happiness, there was only one other feeling that was so obvious it almost hurt.

 _"And I see your true colors… and that's why I love you…"_ And there it was, his confession, his heart was out on his sleeve. He had completely opened up his heart to her, he could no longer lie to himself or hide how he felt about her anymore nor did he want to. He wanted to continue to fight for her happiness and stay by her side, he couldn't see himself hiding in the shadows or pushing her away anymore, even if she rejected him right now. But even so, he hoped she wouldn't as he held his hand out to her and smiled when she turned around too look at him with surprise, he no move to take back the confession he had just made.

 _'What will she say?'_ He found himself wondering as she remained silent for a moment. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long, and her response only made his happiness overflow and his heart practically explode, she had joined him, accepted him, _all_ of him and wasn't ashamed to let everyone in the room know it.

 _"So don't be afraid…"_ The moment her hand touched his own, every fiber of his being began to tingle as he true colors began to finally return to him as well. He couldn't believe it, before this journey he never once believed he would ever find his true colors again, yet here it was happening before his very eyes.

 _"To let them show. You're true colors, true colors are beautiful."_ Branch looked up as the last part of him changed back to their original unique colors, and Poppy watched amazed. She had never seen his colors before and it was almost as if she was insanely in love with them. He had to admit, he had almost forgotten what his true colors actually were, and if it hadn't been for the old pictures he kept of his grandmother, he probably would have forgotten. He looked back into the eyes of the women he loved, before once again taking her hands into his own and leading her into a slow dance around the room. He focused solely on her again, knowing he would never be able to fully express how thankful he was to her especially in this moment right now. Not only for himself but for his grandmother as well, he could almost feel her smiling down upon them as they continued to dance and serenade one another, their little duet had even started to bring back the colors of all the trolls in the room.

 _"I see your true colors shinning through."_  
 _"True Colors."  
"I see your true colors and that's why I love you."_ Poppy sang this along with him this time and as he gazed into her eyes, almost never breaking their eye contact, all he could see was love as well. Was this real? Did Poppy truly love him too?

 _"So don't be afraid, to let them show."_  
 _"Your true colors."_  
 _"True colors are beautiful."_ She continued to serenade him, he took notice that she was spilling her heart out to him as well. Honestly he couldn't believe it... it really was true… she really did love him. Branch was so happy it almost felt like he could cry.

 _"Like a rainbow."_  
 _"Oooohhh like a rainbow."_ But before the tears could flow, Cooper popped up beside them, humming a tune along with them on his harmonica. This broke the pair out of their own little world, and they finally began to take notice that everyone's colors had returned. Branch and Poppy couldn't contain their smiles as everyone closed in around them looking eternally grateful. Branch and Poppy's gazes captured each other again as they silently thanked one another for more then one could ever express, they enveloped one another in a warm embrace, their hearts dancing with happiness. Branch savored this moment, finally… finally he could return her hugs he had always secretly enjoyed receiving, and to top that off the girl he had loved so much for so long, loved him in return. As he held her in his arms he felt a release in his heart, it was as if that pull he would always feel in his heart every time he had pushed her away had finally come loose and released, it seemed like it was a sign that he was finally right where he should be.

"Thank you." Poppy voiced out loud earnestly as they pulled both pulled away from their embrace, neither one of them released each others hands though.

"No… thank you." He returned, earning a confused look from the pink troll.

"For what?"

"For showing me how to be… happy." he explained lovingly.

'For loving me… and never giving up on me.' He added silently.

"Really?!" Poppy exclaimed as she jumped away in excitement.

"You're finally happy?!" She cheered, her happiness and excitement for him written all over her face. But then her arms dropped as she came to realize something and she gave him an exasperated look. Branch always found it humorous how she could change moods so quickly sometimes.

"Now?!" He held back a chuckle as she said this. He couldn't blame her really, it really was bad timing, he himself had no idea how he was able to find happiness in a situation where they still didn't know how they would survive yet. But there was one thing he did know, if she had never allowed him to be her strength, this never would've happened, so he decided to let her comment slide.

"I think so. Happiness is inside of all of us right?" he explained as he used the exact words she had spoken to him before all this madness even started.

"Sometimes you just… need someone to help you find it." He gave her a heartfelt smile and gazed at her as he finished, hoping she would pick up on his hidden meaning. She was that someone for him, and him her. She gave him a knowing smile in return, gazing at him with more love in her eyes then he had ever witnessed before, he knew without asking then that she had figured out what he meant. Before Poppy could say anything to Branch though, they found their little moment interrupted by one of the troll children.

"What's gonna happen now Princess Poppy?" The young child worried. The troll princess turned to acknowledge and smiled before bending down to her level.

"I don't know. But I know we're not giving up." Poppy spoke confidently before turning back to face the formerly grey troll with another bright smile on her face, almost as if she was trying to tell him _'and it's all thanks to you Branch.'_ He could only return her smile shyly before everyone was jolted back to reality by the loud unlocking sound that suddenly echoed through the pot they were still currently trapped inside. All the trolls hurdled together in fear as they anxiously awaited they're fate, or tried to scope out an escape. Poppy instinctively pulled the troll child close to her, protecting her as Branch went in to defensive mode ready to protect Poppy at a moments notice.

"No." Some trolls began to cry.

"This is it Mr. Dinkles! This is it!" Biggie began to hyperventilate. Soon a bright light flooded the pot, blinding everyone momentarily before a familiar kind face came to view.

"Poppy!" the bergen cried.

"Bridget?!"

* * *

 _ **(AN: Well there you have it! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! Only one more chapter left to go! Thank you again everyone for you patience with me and you support! I love you all very much!)**_


	9. Author's Note

I apologize to everyone that this is not the long awaited last chapter but I wanted to give everyone a quick heads up. I am working on the last chapter tonight and hope to have it posted by tomorrow if not then definitely this weekend. The reason for the long wait is due to the fact that i have been in the hospital for the last month after getting into a serious car accident. I am working on the chapter currently as we speak and really apologize for the long wait. I hope all of my readers are still here and excited for the finale. Thank you so much for all of your support.


	10. Chapter 9

**Branch's Perspective**

* * *

 _Description: The Original Trolls Story from Branch's Perspective as he battles with his feelings for Poppy and struggles with his lifelong depression over losing everyone he loved and held dear. A few extra scenes have been thrown in to help better understand everyone's favorite grumpy grey toll. A Broppy FanFic._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls or the plot, it belongs to Dreamworks Productions, nor do I own the song Can't Stop the Feeling.  
**

 _Constructive criticism is welcome flaming is not._

* * *

 ** _(AN: Hello my readers! It's the last chapter! As I mentioned in my quick Author's Note I am so sorry this final chapter took so long to be posted! I had gotten into a really bad car accident not long after I posted Chapter 8 and have in the hospital for a majority of the last month. I really hope everyone is still here with me and super excited to read the last Chapter of Branch's Perspective! I won't babble on any longer, here you are!)_**

 ** _(AN #2: Oh my goodness y'all… you're so sweet! I cannot believe the responses I got from everyone. Thank you all so, so much, you're kindness and concern made me want to cry! I am doing okay, I am very sore but I am okay. A few broken bones and recovering from a pretty bad concussion, but considering what happened I was very lucky to walk away with the injuries I did. I did take everyone's advice and took it easy so it took a few days to post this chapter and I really wanted to thank y'all for that. I seriously have the best readers, you guys are so awesome!)_**

* * *

Chapter Nine

Relived, and slightly confused, to see their only bergen friend Bridget and not Chef, Branch just watched curiously as Princess Poppy hoped up onto Bridget's extended hand before lifting the princess up closer to her face. Out of the corner of his eye, Branch could see King Peppy tense up a little as one of the troll races sworn enemies had gotten a little to close for his comfort to his daughter, but he made no scene. Branch assumed he was able to quickly pick up on the newly formed relationship between the female bergen and his daughter, King Peppy also knew that if Branch wasn't worried about this bergen, then there was no reason he should worry either.

"What are you doing?" The pink troll questioned, her voice full of worry.

"I can't let them eat you." The kind female bergen explained.

"But…" While Poppy battled with her inner turmoil, Branch could only feel relief wash over him with Bridget's declaration, as he glanced around him he could almost visibly see the tension that lift completely from the rest of the trolls still trapped inside the pot. Poppy had really made a good decision when she decided to befriend this bergen, a decision he highly doubted any other troll surrounding them right now would've ever dared to make, including himself.

"Come on! You gotta go!" Bridget urged as she stopped the troll princess from saying anything more and tipped over the pot everyone had been trapped inside. Everyone tumbled clumsily to the ground, but were able to quickly find their bearing the moment they felt themselves hit the pavement, the fear of being found still weighing heavily on everyone's minds.

"Hurry! Go, go, go! Get outta here!" As many of the trolls took off the moment their feet hit the ground, Branch found his instincts telling him to do just the same, but he paused.

 _'_ _If she goes in there without us… what will happen… to Bridget?'_ Branch found himself wondering as the rest of the troll village scattered around him. He couldn't believe he was actually finding himself _concerned_ about a bergen right now! But… she was probably the only bergen in Bergen Town willing to risk her life for them… he turned back to glance at Bridget and Poppy for a moment as Bridget lowered Poppy back down onto the ground, feeling satisfied that Poppy was safe, assuming she would be able to handle this situation on her own and would soon follow, Branch shoved down his worry for Bridget and refocused his attention on helping King Peppy and the rest of the Snack Pack guide everyone safely back to the Troll Tree in the center of town.

"No! Bridget if you go in there without us you know what they'll do!" He heard Poppy cry as he ran, voicing the very same worries that were on his own mind. He could feel his heart leap in his chest, the closer the pair got to one another, the more and more the seemed to work in sync with one another, right down to feeling the same worries and thoughts toward those they cared for. He could feel a slight tug in his heart as he ran farther and farther away from Poppy, but continued to remind himself that she would never leave her village behind and would follow soon.

As he approached the Troll Tree and started to assist many other trolls in climbing the tree so they could reach the top where they would descend back through the root tunnels, he quickly spotted that familiar tuft of pink hair. He did not contain his sign of relief as she approached him and they ascended the tree together. They spoke no words to one another, but Branch could clearly see the turmoil written all over the troll princess' face. Once they were at the top of the tree, Poppy masked the turmoil she was battling and they immediately resumed assisting other trolls down into the root tunnels of the Troll Tree.

"Come on everybody lets go." The troll princess urged. Branch still did not speak a word to her yet even though his heart was begging him to reach out to her and ask her what was wrong. He had decided he would consult her once they knew everyone was safe, but if he was really being honest with himself, he could probably guess exactly what was going on in the mind of the one he loved.

"No troll left behind!"

"Watch your step." Branch helped the very last troll in Troll village hop into the tunnel of the tree before turning back around to face Poppy, fully intending on asking her what was on her mind. As he did he noticed the pink troll had already started making her way back in the direction of Bergen Town.

"Poppy?" He called out to her curiously. The troll princess stopped her the tracks the moment she heard his voice and remained silent for a moment before she turned around to face him again.

"Bridget just ruined her life to save ours!" She exclaimed as she made her way to stand by the now blue trolls side once again, finally voicing what had been weighing heavily on her heart this entire time.

"It's not right!" She exclaimed passionately. Branch couldn't help but smile a little as he listened to her, he knew it. This was _his_ Poppy, she always cared for and loved everyone, including their enemies. He was willing to bet that Bridget wasn't the only bergen she wanted to help experience happiness, he had a feeling she was thinking about finding a way to help _every_ bergen in Bergen Town find their happiness, just as she has helped him find his.

"She deserves to be happy just as much as we do." Poppy continued to explain before turning back around to gaze at Bergen Town with a determined look on her face.

As much as _we_ do huh? Branch's smile on his face widened, he couldn't help but feel as if she was speaking about the happiness Poppy and himself had only just begun to experience with one another as she spoke. He didn't attempt to convince her otherwise this time, knowing all to well that just as she had never given up on him when he was grey, as well as Creek when everyone else had truly believed he had been eaten, she wasn't about to give up on her new friend Bridget either.

"They all do." So it seems as if their journey together wasn't over just yet.

* * *

Branch and Poppy made their way through the root tunnels to find their friends, when they appeared in the clearing where they had met their friend Cloud Guy they were surprised to find every troll in Troll Village waiting for them, Poppy gave everyone a curious look.

"What is everyone doing here?" she questioned. Along with Branch they had decided to recruit the Snack Pack again for some help in saving their friend Bridget as well as the rest of Bergen Town, while the rest of the trolls made their way safely back to the village, they had not expected anyone to really stop and wait for them to arrive. DJ Suki approached the troll pair as they hopped out of the tunnel.

"You have some sort of plan up your sleeve." The red troll stated as a matter-o-factly. The troll princess gave her a surprised look before smiling slightly.

"You guys know me too well." The rest of the Snack Pack closed in behind DJ Suki.

"Everyone wants to help you two this time." DJ Suki continued as she moved her hands to motion to the rest of the troll village, this time it was Branch who looked at everyone with a surprised look.

"You risked you're lives to save us, and if you are to be our future Queen…" Satin explained.

"We will support any decision you make." Chenille finished proudly with a bright smile. Everyone nodded in agreement and Branch could see tears well up in the pink trolls eyes. She turned to face Branch with a bright smile.

"Will this much support work well with your plan?" Poppy questioned knowingly. Branch returned her smile.

"Better then I could ever imagine." He answered.

* * *

Once they were sure everyone in troll village had been able to get into their places. Branch, Poppy and the Snack Pack soon found themselves back inside Bridget's room in search of the skate Poppy knew she had left in there. From within the room they could clearly hear the bergens of Bergen Town chanting from above them.

 _'_ _Trolls, trolls, trolls, trolls!'_

Poppy looked at Branch with a slight look of discontent and worry on her face. He knew, without her telling him, what was worrying her. There was a chance that… if the bergens didn't listen to hear… didn't want to hear what she would have to say… she could very well put every troll in troll village back in the same danger they had all just escaped from. Branch was very positive that the only ones who of truly at risk would be Poppy, himself and her friends since they would be the only ones making their presence known, if this did go wrong the rest of the troll village should be able to escape as long as they had listened to his words. But there was always that slight doubt that would nag him, Chef had been able to scrap their plans in the past, there was a possibility that could happen again.

Right now though… Poppy needed his reassurance, his strength. She needed to know that he truly believed in her. And he did, he knew that if anyone could do this… if anyone could make her voice be heard, it was Poppy. Grabbing her hand he gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled at her with hope and determination. The simple gesture made the worry melt from her eyes and soon was replaced with that same determination he saw a few days ago when she had declared that she would save her friends from the bergens with or without his help. His heart beat rapidly in his chest and he lead her into Bridget's roller skate alongside the rest of her friends, once safely inside the skate Fuzzbert used his quick feet to get them moving again.

Once they reached their destination, the group launched themselves out one of the windows in a tower that stood directly across the courtyard from the dining room area where the banquet was currently being held. Much like they did the day before, they sailed through the air with so much momentum they were able to smash through one of the windows of the dining hall. This time though they were much more coordinated and landed smoothly on the floor, Branch and Poppy then moved in sync to steer the skate around the dining hall, up the back of Barnabas to launch themselves into the air again, heading straight for their friend who was currently surrounded by the castle guards.

Their entrance luckily, had surprised and shocked everyone in the room, as they launched themselves out of the roller skate, they were able to land on Bridget's head without any disturbance, they acted quickly once they were in their place. With the skate landing perfectly back on Bridget's right foot, the trolls extended and transformed their hair into the same style they had given her yesterday when their friend had gone on her date with King Gristle, even Branch participated this time. Acting _'troll-like'_ again was still a bit odd for him… okay very odd for him. Even with his colors returning, he could never ignore the way he had lived for the past twenty years, nor could he wash all of that away in one day. But he had promised himself to always be there when Poppy needed him, even more so now then ever. Their scene while they were trapped inside that pot only resided more-so within him that he would do whatever it took in order to never witness Poppy, or even himself turn grey ever again.

Once the commotion from their entrance had died down a bit and Bridget had now found herself facing the king once again, a loud gasp echoed throughout the room as King Gristle came to the realization of exactly _who_ Bridget was. Sliding himself under the table only to quickly appear on the other side, he stared at Bridget with shock and disbelief.

"Lady Glitter Sparkles?" he questioned as if he were trying to make sure his eyes were not deceiving him in this moment.

"What?" Chef's whisper could be heard from behind the bergen pair, but fell on deaf ears as everyone in the room watched the king and Bridget in shock. Bridget moved herself forward to approach the table without speaking a word, and the trolls began to retract their hair once again. Bridget lifted her hands up to them for support, so they could walk onto them and she could lower the group onto the table. The king began to look around frantically, very confused and slightly offended.

"But… how? Why? Why did you do this?" Well at least the king was willing to hear her out. She must've been able to strike some chord deep within the king's heart because he really could have just sentenced her to the dungeon or even banished her right then and there. Knowing Bridget was probably a bit confused herself and not sure what she should say, Poppy carefully approached King Gristle and answered his question for her.

"Because she didn't think you would want someone like her." Poppy's words gave the kind female bergen the courage to speak.

"I mean hello…" She started, as she looked King Gristle right in the eyes.

"Is it me you're lookin' for? I don't think so…" Bridgette hung her head dejected and the bergen king found himself unable to say anything more, proving she had been right.

"Guards!" Unfortunately before anyone could even utter anymore words for explanation, they were rudely interrupted.

"Finish her!" Chef shouted as she pointed directly at Bridget, staring her down with a fierce glare. Bridget cried out in fear, while King Gristle waved his hands at his guards trying to stop them.

"No!" King Gristle cried. The very words Branch's own mind was screaming as well, but the pink troll standing beside him spoke up and acted before he could.

"Wait!" Her voice caused King Gristle and Bridget to turn around and face her, willing to hear what she had to say. Branch found it very strange that these guards were acting more on the Chef's commands rather than their own king's, but at the moment he digressed and allowed Poppy to speak with words she needed to say.

"King Gristle… when you were with Bridget, you were feeling something… weren't you?" Bridget eyed King Gristle with hope and wonder. Hoping that their time together was as enjoyable for him as it was for her.

"Yeah I was I… I just thought it was too much pizza." King Gristle answered the Troll Princess before turning back toward Bridget to stare at her with what looked to be love in his eyes.

"Me too!" Bridget responded cheerfully.

"That feeling… that was happiness!" Poppy's remark created a commotion throughout the entire dining room. Branch began to grow anxious, would the bergen race really be willing to listen? To believe in what she was trying to say?

"But… you have to eat a troll to be happy… everyone knows that… don't you?" Questioned a confused bergen whom Branch had recognized as the owner of the Trollstice bib shop they had seen King Gristle shopping at. They may not completely believe the words the troll princess was speaking to them just yet, but their confusion was proving to show that maybe they had been wrong all along.

"But King Gristle's never eaten a troll in his life right?" Poppy argued, making King Gristle smile as he turned to face Bridget once again.

"No I haven't." The bergen king lowered himself down to one knee he gazed a Bridget with wonder, love and pure happiness. Feelings of which he never once believed he would ever be able to experience.

"And yet here I am…" He held up Bridget's missing skate in the palms of his hands, an object he had held close to his heart since the day she left him back at the roller rink.

"My belly empty…" Bridget lifted her barefoot and King Gristle slid the skate onto her foot for her. A perfect fit.

"And my heart full." King Gristle stood up and took Bridget's hands into his own, both sharing a smile brighter than any bergen in the room had ever witnessed before. Their sweet exchange earned several 'awws' from their peers; even Branch found himself smiling at the bergen pair alongside his own love, Poppy. Branch found himself feeling truly happy for the scullery maid who had been willing to risk her lives for them. She had been able to obtain true happiness with the most important person in her life, just as he had. Branch believed that if any bergen in this room deserved any happiness, Bridget was the one who deserved it most of all.

Unfortunately their tender moment was short lived…

"Don't listen to her!" Chef, having had enough of the entire exchange, shouted as she aggressively closed in on the group of trolls standing on the table behind the bergen king and the scullery maid. Her sights dead set on capturing them once again and forcing everyone to live as she demanded, she shoved King Gristle and Bridget out of her way.

"There's only one way to be happy! **_My way!_** "

"No!" Bridget cried. Branch instinctively came forward in front of Poppy to protect her as the bergen chef approached them, there was no time to formulate a plan as the Chef was hovering above them within seconds.

"With me in charge…" Chef slammed her fist onto the dining table the trolls were standing on with such force; it launched the formerly grey troll high into the air.

"Ah!" Gasps could be heard from Poppy and her friends as Chef snagged Branch in midair.

"I'll serve you troll everyday of the year!" Chef slammed the survivalist troll back onto the table, opposite from where he had been just previously, she then grabbed King Gristle and forced him to sit back down in his dining chair, before aggressively turning the bergen king's head to face Branch before shoving his head down until his chin hit the table.

"Gah!" King Gristle cried.

BONK. Chef struck the bergen kings head with her wooden ladle, causing his tongue to involuntarily tumble out of his mouth, she held his head down in place as Branch scrambled to get as far away from King Gristle's mouth as he could. Everything had just occurred so quickly Branch barely had time to register that he needed to run away! He needed to get back to Poppy!

"With ME as QUEEN all of life will be a never ending feast of happiness!" Chef slammed her huge knife down in front of Branch as he tried to run away, this caused him to recoil in fear of being injured by the sharp object. Unfortunately his recoil resulted in him loosing his balance, tumbling backwards right onto King Gristle's outstretched tongue.

"Come on EAT! **_EEAATT!_** " The bergen chef was clearly loosing it, her erratic actions were not only frightening the trolls, but also other bergens in the room as well, including the king, nervousness and confusion was written all over the kings face as she demanded for him to eat the blue troll. Unsure of how to handle the situation, he began to comply, afraid of what she might do if he hadn't.

"Ahhhh!" Branch cried as he desperately tried to back away and get off of the bergen kings quickly retracting tongue. This _could not_ happen to him now! Not after he finally found happiness again! He actually had a chance at being with...

"NO!" A familiar, loud, voice rang throughout the room. And suddenly in the next moment Branch found himself being tackled by a flying pink blur, the momentum behind that pink blur launched him off of the bergen king's tongue and clumsily back onto the table.

"Oof!" The pair mumbled. What in the world just… In that moment, Branch's bright blue eyes met Poppy's. Poppy… Poppy saved him… he finally realized as she took his slightly larger hand into her own to help him stand back up.

"Happiness isn't something you put inside you…" Branch remained close to Poppy as she walked forward toward King Gristle again, his mind still reeling over the events that had just occurred. The troll princess on the other hand was still determined and was still desperately trying to get her point across. It was clear she had stirred something within most of the bergens in the dining room already, all but Chef. There was only one other trick Poppy held up her sleeve.

"It's already there! Sometimes you just… need someone to help you find it." Branch reeling mind came to a stop then as his heart jumped in his chest, a smile graced his lips upon hearing the girl he loved repeating the words he had spoken to her when he helped her get her colors back. He knew at the moment that she was referring to him and the troubles they had faced and overcome together.

"Can I really be happy?" Commotion stirred once again within the dining room, throwing the bergen chef of guard once again.

"Oh! I wanna be happy!"

"And me!"

"Sign me up!"

"What about me?"

"Me! Me! Me!" Chef looked around the room in confusion, she hadn't seen this coming, not even for a moment.

"Do you really think… I could be happy?" Questioned the owner of the Trollstice bib shop.

"Of course!" Poppy beamed and Branch watched her tenderly.

"It's inside you!" She exclaimed, excited that she had finally gotten through to them, that her words were finally starting to make a difference. Branch, still close behind her beamed as well, proud of woman he was in love with.

"It's inside all of us!" Branch didn't miss the quick look Poppy gave him as she turned toward him with that statement, with just that one quick look he could clearly see how grateful she was for him being supportive and giving her the strength she needed when she needed it the most. He nodded with her as she continued.

"And I don't think it… I feel it!"

 _'_ _I got this feelin', inside my bones.'_ The troll princess broke out into song, her final trick to win the bergens over and convince them that they could find happiness on their own. Branch immediately recognized the tune and quickly found himself moving to the beat.

 _'_ _It goes electric wavy when I turn it on.'_ Even though all of this was still new to Branch after twenty years of living alone in solitude, his body seemed to react naturally and instinctively to the music. He had not felt the urge to sing or dance in years, he wasn't entirely sure if it was Poppy's influence, or because he was just getting caught up in the moment due to the situation they were currently in, but he decided to just allow his body to do what it naturally wanted to do. So… he jumped slightly to land next to her and started to sing and dance with her again.

 _'_ _And if you want it, inside your soul.'_

 _'_ _Just open up your heart let music take control.'_ What perfect lyrics to match exactly how he had been feeling in this moment, his heart now open for everyone to see felt like it was soaring with joy. He had to admit, he could sing a pretty perfect duet alongside Poppy.

 _'_ _I got that sunshine in my pocket.'_ As they march forward in their dance the rest of the Snack Pack started to join them as well.

 _'_ _Got that good soul in my feet.  
I feel that hot blood in my body when I drops  
I can't take my eyes up off it, moving so phenomenally  
Room on lock, the way we rock it, so don't stop.'_

Gosh did it feel so good to be dancing next to Poppy and singing to her again. Even if he never joined the trolls in any of their daily dance numbers, he knew he would at least be able to serenade Princess Poppy once a day in their own privacy. Doing this just felt so good with her, he barely even noticed everyone else in the room.

 _'_ _And under the lights when everything goes  
Nowhere to hide when I'm getting you close  
When we move, well you already know.'_

 _'_ _Let's go let's work!'_

The Snack Pack started to sing along with them now, encouraging the bergens around them to join in as well, even dancing in some of the bergens hands, it seemed like it was working. Bergens all around them began to tap along to the beat.

 _'_ _So just imagine, just imagine, just imagine.'_ Right on cue the rest of the trolls in Troll Village jumped out of their hiding places, knowing they would now be safe and joined in, transforming the dining room into a dance floor.

 _'_ _Nothing I can see but you when you dance, dance, dance  
A feeling good, good, creeping up on you  
So just dance, dance, dance, come on  
All those things I shouldn't do  
But you dance, dance, dance  
And ain't nobody leaving soon so keep dancing.'_

Poppy left Branch's side for a moment to run up to a bergen who looked like he wanted to start dancing, but wasn't sure what he should do. Giving him the encouragement he needed, the troll princess wrapped her hair around his finger before using it to whirl him around in a circle, the bergens body then seemed to move on it's own as he initiated several more bergens in a line of dancing. Sending an eruption throughout the room, encouraging everyone (except Chef), to allow happiness burst from deep within their hearts and be expressed through their dance.

 _'_ _I can't stop the feeling!'  
'_ _So just dance, dance, dance, come on.'_

After Poppy encouraged another bergen along the table to move their arms in a chain like wave motion, Branch joined in launching himself off another bergens hand who had been at the end of the chain. He really was letting loose now to be able to feel comfortable dancing with the race that he had declared his sworn enemy for twenty long years.

 _'_ _I can't stop the feeling!'_

Branch landed beside his love again who was now dancing in a group made up of her closest friends. They lost themselves in the music as their hearts sang upon witnessing the trolls and bergens finally bring their long dispute to an end, and dance alongside each other in joy. It seemed as if they no longer had anything to worry about, and they could finally stop living in hiding and fear… or so they thought.

 _'_ _So just dance, dance, dance, dance  
I can't stop the feeling!  
So keep dancing.'_

Lost in the music, Branch, Poppy and the Snack Pack did not notice the bergen chef quickly and aggressively making their way toward them until she was standing over them with her knifes, aimed and ready. Everyone gasped as Branch instinctively attempted to protect Poppy again. Luckily, their bergen friend had taken notice much quicker then they had and had startled Chef by hitting her in the head with the same wooden ladle she had struck both Bridget and King Gristle with in the past.

 _'_ _Can't stop the...'_

Taking advantage of the distraction, Poppy's friends acted quickly. DJ Suki and Smidge launched their hair straight up to latch on to something on the ceiling, they grabbed a couple of lemon slices nearby and used them to squirt her in the eyes, effectively blurring her vision.

"Let's do it!" As Chef began to stumble backwards Satin and Chenille had already been on the ground, ready to use their hair to throw the Chef even more off balance. She ended up falling backwards, her bottom landing right in the very pot she had trapped everyone in troll village inside earlier. Her fall caused the cart to roll backwards, heading out of the room. Cooper landed a final blow by lighting the very match the Chef had intended to use to light and cook them with. She quickly found herself heading right out to the dining room, down the corridors and even down the stairs outside the castle. As everyone gathered to watch her leave, Branch caught a glimpse of Creek popping out of Chef's fanny pack. Once he realized the situation he was in his screams could be heard along with the Chef's as they made their way out of Bergen Town, now banished.

 _'_ _I can't stop the feeling!'_

Finally _knowing_ that everyone was safe and no longer in danger of being eaten, Poppy jumped up and started their little dance number up again. Branch quickly ran up beside her to join her and the two of them lead everyone, trolls and bergens alike, through the town heading directly toward their old home, the Troll Tree.

 _'_ _Nothing I can see but you when you dance, dance, dance (I can't stop the feeling!)  
Feeling good, good, creeping up on you  
So just dance, dance, dance, come on (I can't stop the feeling!)  
All those things I shouldn't do  
But you dance, dance, dance (I can't stop the feeling!)  
And ain't nobody leaving soon so keep dancing.'_

 _'Got this feeling in my body.  
Break it down  
Got this feeling in my body  
Can't stop the feeling  
Got this feeling in my body, come on  
Wanna see you move your body  
Got this feeling in my body, come on.'_

The trolls had now gathered under the Troll Tree that had now gained back it's beauty and liveliness and the bergens also gathered around them. King Peppy approached his daughter with a new crown in his hands, this being that perfect moment... he took the opportunity to crown his daughter as the new Queen of the trolls, thus announcing his resignation as well.

"Our new Queen!" Trolls and bergens alike erupted into cheers for Poppy as they witnessed this monumental event and many of Poppy's close friends, including King Gristle and Bridget, congratulated her. Branch welled up with so much pride for the women he loved, he couldn't stop himself from approaching her, and right in front of everyone surrounding them he took her hands into his own. He had intended to give her a heartfelt congratulations of his own, but Poppy's friends who had secretly been cheering the pair on as a couple had other plans. The ground beneath them, which happened to be a healthy mushroom, began to shake and they were suddenly launched high into the air. Branch soon realized that Smidge had taken it upon herself to award them some alone time together and he silently thanked her from his heart. Once their ascent had stopped, he could no longer control the desire to hug the women he loved close to him, needing to feel her warmth against his. While he knew he had made his confession to her while helping her gain back her true colors, he wanted to make sure she knew so that there would be no room for confusion in their new relationship.

"I know it's not officially hug time yet but…" Branch opened his arms out wide to the pink troll smiling beside him, his own bright smile spreading across his own face.

"Now that I am queen I decree that hug time…" Branch knew Poppy was joking around with him as she acted as if she were placed on a pedestal. He smirked at her and allowed her to continue.

"Is all the time." She finished sweetly, giving him a heartfelt smile before steeping into his waiting arms. Warmth spread throughout the turquoise trolls body as she squeezed him close to her and he did the same to her, this pink troll fit perfectly in his embrace, as if she were always meant to be there. He relished the tender moment for a bit, but right as he was about to pull away to confess to her one more time, the troll pair felt another pair of arms wrapping around their embrace. Their eyes snapped open simultaneously before they pulled apart from their embrace and turned around to see a familiar face smirking back at them.

"Up high." Cloud Guy commented smugly, fully knowing that he had just ruined their tender moment they were trying to share. Branch and Poppy just looked at one another knowingly before they both high fived their friend with enough force to push him off of their mushroom. Cloud Guy simply laughed as he fell, enjoying their banter, making Branch and Poppy burst out into laughter with one another as well. Branch really was enjoying this new life he was starting to create with the pink troll he loved standing beside him and knew there was no better time than now to ask her to be his. Still laughing, he reached beside him to take Poppy's hands into his own once again, as she turned to face him as well, still giggling; he gazed lovingly into her eyes, maybe he truly was a romantic after all, he had never felt the urge to be this bold before.

"I love you Poppy." His voice had dropped and octave as he spoke, reflecting the same warm smile she had shown him earlier. Her eyes widened in surprise, but Branch did not falter, allowing the depth of his words to sink in. He wanted to make sure she knew exactly how he had felt about her for so long, and also that she knew his confession to her before wasn't just a fleeting emotion he had felt in the moment. Poppy soon returned his warm smile with a smile brighter then he had ever witnessed before, even brighter than the smile she had given him when their colors returned back in Bergen Town castle, even tears had started to shine in her eyes.

"I love you too Branch." She whispered before she leaned forward to rest her forehead against his, closing her eyes. Branch relaxed and closed his eyes as well, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

"So much… Thank you… for everything." Branch chuckled slightly before he gently nuzzled Poppy's nose against his own.

"Anytime Poppy. I'll always be by your side."

 ** _-FIN-_**

* * *

 ** _(AN: It's finished! It makes me a little sad that it's over but I'm so happy it is as well! As I mentioned a few chapters ago if anyone has any questions I would love to answer them for you in a follow-up post! I have a few already from previous reviews that I will answer I just want to make sure no one else has any questions. I also have another story that is ready to be typed up called 'Branch's Birthday'. But I am going to take a little break to recover from my accident before posting it. I don't want to leave to long of a gap between posting chapters on you guys. Thank you all so much for reading and enjoying this story! I am so happy to have a fan base like all of you and can wait for you to read the new stories I have conjured up in my mind! I love you all!)_**


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